On my mind today...

As I went about my business today (running to the bank, Isaiah's game, watching the U-13 game early, visiting my grandma's house)this has been in my mind. How do we get the young people in our communities to respect themselves and behave with self discipline? Of course the pat conservative answer is that they deserve whatever they get as a result of their own actions...the pat liberal answer is that we need to just take the reins and take care of them.

After all of my years in social work and ministry...my thoughts are somewhere in between. There are kids who do not have respect for themselves, let alone authority. There are kids who honestly can not see past tomorrow because they truly don't know if they'll even HAVE a future. Why plan for something that may not occur. Our families have broken down to the point of treating 14 year olds like they are grown. Our parents let their kids run wild and then complain when they're held accountable for their actions. Then there are the outskirts. Those are the people who live on the outskirts of what is really going on in the world and want to point fingers and get angry over shootings-etc....but they certainly aren't going to do anything about it until those things move into their community.

Start with one. One kid, one smile, one kind word, one prayer...one chance. Don't treat young people like a pet project that you are going to "save" from themselves. Each day as you come into contact a young person...make a difference. If you don't come into contact with a young person...you aren't looking because they are everywhere. They are the clerks at the store you go to, the cashier at McDonald's...they take your ticket at the movies and walk past your car as you pick up your child. Don't think a hard nose teenager is a lost cause. Don't. It is never too late. Showing love and compassion go a long way and the Holy Spirit can do amazing things with just a little.

I think what got me thinking about all of this was a phone call I had with one of the girls from Teen MOPS. We only talked for a short bit...but I could tell that she seemed much more chipper and happy after we talked. There have been plenty of times when I was tired or worn out when she has called and I've quickly gotten off of the phone...but taking that 10 minutes today to chat and make plans for later in the week really made a difference. Don't miss out on creating those relationships. Invest in our future.