Devoted

Being "devoted" can mean a lot of things. Devotion is something that is meant to help us take flight. But, devotion to the wrong things clips the wings of flight and keeps us on the ground.

Working with troubled youth that have been removed from the home for what ever reason I see how clipped wings prevents growth and over all healing.

How many of us have been scarred by the events of the past? How many of us really knows what it feels like to have PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)? Our soldiers know it all to well. They go off complete and whole willing to fight for our freedoms we take for granted, and come back broken and a shadow of their former self. They become strangers to their wives and children as they fight to regain control of life.

Children are fragile. They are products of their parents. When parents abuse the God given right to protect their children and harm them in any number of ways, they brake the trust God gave them and do eternal damage. Once you have broken a childs trust and hurt them, it is NEVER regained. It's often very hard for me to separate the anger from compassion when I deal with these blessings given by God who have had their trust abused. It's easey for adults to write them off as a "bad seed." But the truth is, the adults in their lives have let them down. I want to be the one to punish them. I want to be the one who stands up and takes justice into my hands. I want to fight for them, sometimes in vengance. It hits to close to home for me. I spend so much time in prayer for them and how I deal with my own emotions.

In the end, I pray God will deal with those who hurt these wonderful kids in away that only He can. My heart breaks for them as I speak with them on the phone and visit them in person. What did they do to deserve it? They didn't ask to be born, to be left alone, to be abused, to be treated as trash...

I know if my heart is breaking for them God's heart is more than broken. As much as I love and serve God I ask Him why he sits by and lets it happen. Sure, their judgement will be harsh but how swift?

As I sit here clicking away at the keys, the prayer of my heart is that God would give me wisdom to say the right words, and be one of the adults who WILL NOT let them down.

Over the years as a Youth Pastor I have faught for me students. My approach has never been one of a "typical" Youth Pastor. Now, I consider myself a Youth Specialist. There is a reason why the majority of my students are from broken homes and broken themselves. God has opened a door in my life to be surrounded by the students who are hurting and need to be loved. So now, I specialize in reaching the unreachable and loving the unloved.

What are we doing for those children and teens who hurt so much they resort to replacing the hurt with so many things? Cutting, teen pregnancy, STD's, alcohol abuse, and suicide consume this generation as they cry out in the dark for hope. What are you and I doing? What can we say to Christ on the day of judgement?

My prayer is that God would allow us to be more determined to make a difference. For making a difference in one child's life could mean the difference between life and death...


Blessings,

Mike III AKA Big Daddy