Amazing New Friend

One of the most difficult aspects of doing work with at risk youth or adults is that you can’t force anyone to take ownership of their own lives. It is tragic to watch someone throw their life away. I struggle with knowing how to truly help someone who is on the edge without becoming loud and in their face. I just got off the phone with an amazing lady who has been the ‘god mom’ of one of my teens since he was a toddler. She has watched this youth go through some unfortunate circumstances.

We were talking about how to ‘knock’ some sense into this one teen that seems to be giving up on life. I know that it is difficult to be raised by a grandma after watching your mom die when you are too young to understand about drugs and violence. I also know from experience that too many of our teens are being raised without any dads or male influences in their lives. So it has been great to meet this teen’s ‘god mom’ who has taken him under her ‘wings’ for the last 13 years. She has gone out of her way to be that angel that is there to help, pay for the little extras, also give a sense of order, give boundaries and also spoil him at times by taking him out for lunch or dinner.

I know one of the most frustrating things in life is to have to wait for someone else to figure out what seems obvious to you but not to them. This teen, who is in the middle of crashing and burning, has a few people in the middle of his life who care big time but don’t’ know how to ‘knock’ some common sense into his head. He has just gone through a health crisis that if he doesn’t take it seriously will land him in the hospital again.

I just had the carpets in my house cleaned. I know that with having four dogs and lots of people coming and going that it will get dirty again sooner than it should. I also know that living in today’s world that we are exposed to too much garbage that eventually wears off if we aren’t being proactive in how we approach living. I know that it is so important to have friends who can both be an encouragement, hold you accountable, be willing to just hang out and have fun or enjoy life.

I know that God will at times give me special friends who are like this teen’s ‘god mom’ who just happens to care in a special way. She has chosen to go the extra mile and be there when it wasn’t convenient. I am so blessed to have many friends that pray for me, hang out with me and at times make me wake up when I’m off. I am thrilled to meet this special friend of my teen. My hope is that God will use a few of these special friends to get the attention of this teen that is on the edge of ruining his life.

I’m so thankful that God doesn’t grow tired of helping me when I mess around or get off track. I pray that this teens’ grandma and ‘god mom’ are able to hang in there as God works out the kinks. I know that growing up isn’t always easy whether you are 15 or 55.