Nineteen Again
- Curt Brickley
- Jun 26
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 26
What would you do if you were nineteen again?
Not what career would you choose. Not where would you live. Not what opportunities would you pursue.
What would you do if you could start over with everything you know now?
Most people answer that question with places they would go, mistakes they would avoid, or chances they wish they had taken. But after enough years, enough victories, enough failures, and enough scars, the answer becomes much simpler.
This song is not about going back.
It's about finally seeing clearly.
Personal Reflection
Not long ago, a nineteen-year-old young woman asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks.
"What would you do if you were nineteen and could do anything you wanted in the world? No pressure from your parents. No expectations. No limits. What would you do?"
I sat quietly for a moment because I realized that in only a few years my own daughter could be asking me that same question.
When I was nineteen, I was living a dream. I ran onto the field as a Division I wide receiver for the Arkansas Razorbacks while the band played and thousands of fans filled the stadium. A year later, I marched across the parade deck at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego as the distinguished honor graduate of my platoon and a United States Marine.
The years that followed were filled with adventures, accomplishments, successes, failures, victories, disappointments, and lessons learned the hard way. I've traveled the world, stood in remarkable places, met incredible people, and experienced things I never could have imagined as a young man.
But when I honestly considered her question, none of those things became my answer.
If I were nineteen again, I would seek Jesus sooner.
I would spend less time building my own plans and more time pursuing His. I would trust God with my life, not merely with my eternity. I would stop leaning on my own understanding and start following His Word as a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
The older I get, the more convinced I become that the greatest treasures in life are not accomplishments, adventures, possessions, or experiences. They are found in knowing Christ.
Every success eventually fades.
Every trophy gathers dust.
Every adventure becomes a memory.
But Jesus remains.
The greatest decision I ever made wasn't athletic, military, professional, or personal.
It was surrender.
If I were nineteen again, I would put every egg in His basket. I would follow Him wherever He led. I would trust that His plans were better than my ambitions, His wisdom greater than my dreams, and His purpose more satisfying than anything I could build on my own.
The beautiful truth is that you don't have to be nineteen to make that decision.
You can make it today.
Theme
Nineteen Again is a reflection on youth, ambition, and the clarity that often comes only through experience.
It is not a wish to relive the past. It is a recognition that many of life's greatest lessons are learned through surrender rather than success. The song asks a simple but powerful question:
What would change if we trusted God earlier?
This song reminds us:
Strength without wisdom is fragile.
Success without purpose is empty.
Surrender is not weakness—it is the beginning of true strength.
God's plans are better than our ambitions.
It is never too late to start following Jesus wholeheartedly.
Scripture Foundation
"If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." — Luke 9:23
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." — Proverbs 3:5
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach." — James 1:5
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." — Matthew 6:33
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." — 2 Timothy 4:7
"For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.'" — Romans 10:11
Processing Questions
Take a few moments and reflect:
If you could speak to your younger self, what would you tell them about faith?
Where have you trusted your own strength more than God's wisdom?
What ambition has competed with your pursuit of Christ?
How has God used painful seasons to teach you what success never could?
What would it look like to trust Him more fully today?
Prayer
Father,
Thank You for every year You've given me—the victories, the failures, the joys, and the disappointments. Thank You for the lessons You've patiently taught me and for the grace You've shown me when I wandered from Your path.
Help me trust You more fully. Teach me to seek Your wisdom above my own understanding and Your Kingdom above my own ambitions. Whether I am nineteen or ninety, remind me that the greatest life is the life surrendered to You.
Guide my steps, direct my path, and help me finish the race with faith intact and my eyes fixed firmly on Jesus.
In His name I pray, Amen.
Closing
Most people wish they could go back and change the past.
God offers something better.
He redeems it.
You may not be nineteen anymore, but you still have today.
And today is enough time to start following Jesus with your whole heart.
Because the best decision you'll ever make isn't behind you.
It's the next step of obedience in front of you.
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