Embarrassed!

I had one of those moments this last week where I wanted to disappear or wake up from a bad dream. I have lots of different groups that help us impact the lives of at risk youth. I know that some times these youth, teens and 20 somethings will do something totally crazy like steal. I live between a world of haves and have not’s. There isn’t any explanation as to the disparity that works on either side. You can talk about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps but the reality is that some have been born into great families with the talents almost inbreeded to guide them towards success. Others have been born into a family without a dad or a family that truly cares and they have seldom seen examples of consistency or genuineness in their lives.

I cringe when someone either calls me up or as in this last week comes running up to the van as we are leaving to ask if I have found a missing iPhone. I know that the individual has to assume that one of my wild kids must have taken it and I tend to assume the same thing also. Yes, I have been surprised to find out later, a few times, that the person happened to actually misplace their phone. What I witnessed was a dad running out to a van that was leaving to hopefully find news of his son’s phone. I stopped and had everyone come out and had them empty out their pockets and any packs to see if the lost phone would appear. I spaced and should have also asked them to take off their shoes. We didn’t find anything.

The dad graciously left without screaming, even though I could feel his frustration and let me to ‘lecture’ the group about what had just happened. I explained that playing basketball in this brand new gym was a gift that could be taken away. I asked how did this made us look to these families and friends who help us all of the time? One of the moms actually went out and bought us drinks and snacks after we played. I talked again with the dad and another friend about what had happened and explained that he handled everything just right.

So what do I do? I know some would say you are just setting yourself up for trouble by having temptation all over the place. Others would say you should make sure everything that is valuable is locked up with a key. I now have the unpleasant task of going back to a few of the guys and asking them eyeball-to-eyeball who did this crazy thing? I know that snitching is against the rules of the hood. Yet, deep down inside there is someone who will eventually break and be honest with me. I just hope we can retrieve this phone for this teen that had just finished playing basketball with these kids from the hood.

I talk a lot about forgiveness, grace and mercy. This is where that talk is put to the test. I know that it is easy for me to say forgive a teen who just stole a phone or hit someone but how do you in real everyday life do this? I have a close friend who is going through a murder trial for her son’s murderer. This individual is guilty and ultimately will receive punishment by the state. Yet, the mom whose son was murdered is quick to say she is learning how to forgive this individual and actually pray for him in a positive way. I have a side to me where I want to ‘strangle’ the teen that did this because it could hurt the whole group. Yet, I know that few of us think about the consequences of our actions on others.

Yes, I was embarrassed with this incident but see God teaching me a lesson about being quick to respond, not make any excuses and then seek the truth about what really happened. I know the individual who did this will learn a life lesson sooner than later I pray.