Those butterflies come around every time you see him. You like him, and he likes you. It
couldn’t be any better than that. It couldn’t be more exciting than that. There’s
a rush of excitement as your sweet 16 approaches, with that comes your
allowance to date. You know exactly who you have your eye on, and luckily he
has his eye on you too. You can’t wait to embark on this new territory, this
new milestone, it’s an entirely new world and you’re ready for it. You really
like him; you really, really like him. You can’t wait for the phone to ring
when he calls you. You can’t wait to see him at school, to hold his hand. You
can’t wait for your first date. Is every day your Birthday? It sure feels like
it!

Just remember, he’s not your world darling.

You were who you are before he was ever in the picture. The definition of you stays no matter if he
does or doesn’t. Don’t wrap who you are in him less you lose yourself. He
is a part of your life right now, but he doesn’t define your life.

Remember who does
define you. God created you, He fashioned a plan for your life, every intricate
detail was planned out before you lived a single day. God knows who you are
inside and out, and only in Him will you discover who you are and what you are
called to do. Don’t lose that. I know this is cliché, but really it’s
important, keep God first no matter what, it’s the only way a relationship will
work.

Strong individually
equals strong together. If you’re not strong in who you are in Christ
individually, you can’t be strong together. Don’t look to each other to make you strong. You should be strong on
your own so that when you are together your
strength in Christ complement and encourage each other. Many times when you
look to each other to create strength in your relationship in Christ you often
do the opposite, pulling each other further away. God has to be your number one
in all things, especially before relationships.

Remember who you are
apart. You were someone before you were dating him. You had friends, you
had hobbies, you had a family, you had church – you had a life. Don’t neglect
that life to be with him. He is not your
world; he is just part of it. Incorporate him into the things you love,
your friends, and your family, not only that, but be a part of the things you
love without him too. Your world doesn’t stop when you have a boyfriend. Don’t lose yourself in your relationship.

Set boundaries with accountability. The two
go hand and hand. Setting the boundaries is the easy part, keeping them is the
hard part. It’s easy to say this is the line that you refuse to cross, but when
the situation presents itself the real challenge is not crossing that line. You
need to set your boundaries from the beginning. You need to set in place what
you are not okay with doing and what you are okay with. When you set the
boundaries, you both need to have your accountability. Did I mention you cannot be each other’s accountability? It doesn’t
work that way. Find a friend who has the same values, tell them what your guidelines
are, and make sure they aren’t afraid to call you up and put you on the spot.
Make sure they aren’t afraid to ask you face to face, it’s a lot harder to be
dishonest when you are looking someone in the eye; at least it’s harder to get
away with. Boundaries and accountability
go hand in hand.

Have fun and be
yourself. This is a fun stage of life, being sixteen is pretty amazing. You
hit one of your biggest milestones in life, and you’re learning how to be an
adult. Dating can be a great thing if you use it in the right way. If you set
boundaries, have accountability, remember to be yourself, and be completely
honest through it all there’s a lot you can learn. You’re discovering more of
who you are, and you’re one pretty amazing person.