Hannah’s Speech

My cousin’s daughter, Hannah, wrote a speech which she performed at Lads to Leaders (and won!)  She was kind enough to share her speech with us.

Rules, Rules, Rules! Every place in the world has some form of rulebook to follow. In the state of Washington, it is illegal to buy any type of mattress on Sunday.  Also, in New Jersey it is forbidden to slurp your soup! These rules may seem a bit outrageous but, if you think about it, we have rules to follow pretty much everywhere.

At school one of my “favorite” rules is that we are not allowed to have backpacks at our school.  I have this really cute quilted backpack purse and because it is shaped like a backpack and has straps like a backpack then I am not allowed to use it.  Although I don’t agree with this rule I am still expected to follow it.

I also have to follow rules at home…  A rule at my house is that I can’t have a cell phone until I am in high school.  This is another rule I might not agree with but I am expected to follow.  Another rule my parents have informed me of is that I will not be allowed to date until I have a driver’s license. Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about this one.  I will have to let you know in a few years how that turns out.

Also, my brother is a new driver and he has learned that there are some rules of the road that don’t always make sense to him but he is expected to follow them. Like when the speed limit is set at 25 mph and he really wants to go faster because other cars are passing him by. He could speed up and risk getting in trouble with the law AND with my parents. According to my parents, if he gets a ticket he will lose his license for an indefinite period of time ( I am not exactly sure how long that is but he drives me places so I really hope it isn’t too long.)

These are all rules set up by my parents, school administrators, and the government; but what about the rules or commandments God gives to us?

Jesus said in John 14:21 “HE WHO HAS MY COMMANDMENTS AND KEEPS THEM HE IS WHO LOVES ME.” According to these words, if we love Jesus we must keep his commandments. So what are some of the commandments of Jesus we have to follow?

The first one that comes to my mind is Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” A rule that I must follow as a child of God is to obey my parents and respect them. If I had a boyfriend behind my parent’s back, not only would I be disobeying them, but I would be breaking the law of Christ. Sometimes, it is hard to always do what my parents tell me to do and sometimes I don’t understand why they give me the rules that they do. But if I remember that by obeying my parents, I am obeying the commands of Jesus and showing my love for Him, it makes it so much easier.

Another commandment of Jesus that is difficult to follow is found in John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” This may seem simple enough, but it is easier said than done! Jesus expects us to love all people, not just our friends and people who are nice to us, but our enemies also. Being a seventh grade girl, I have experienced my fair share of “middle school drama.” It is so difficult to love people who treat others disrespectfully. But I know God tells me I have to love them all so I try hard everyday to be what He asks me to be.

When I think of my life I think about the things I would like to have.  Things like an Ipod Touch of my own, a TV and new clothes.  Maybe even a new car when I turn 16 and even farther down the road I would like to see myself graduate from high school with honors and go to a great college.  I want to make lots of friends and one day get married, get a good job and maybe have kids of my own.  Although I would love to have these things someday, these things are all earthly.  The Bible tells us in I John 2:15 “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  If we love the world it won’t matter to us if we have God or follow His commandments.  We will have made our choice.  We either choose to love God and keep His commandments or we choose the world and the things of the world.

What choice will you make?

Congrats to Hannah and her award winning speech!