A Trusting Witness

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His spirit in the inner man" (Eph. 3:14-16).

Hey Gang:  I need to finish my story from yesterday.  I, and the one saboteur of the united Day Room rebellion, finished one game and enjoyed the fruits of the victory, a container of candy.  We moved on to the second game.  And then a second and third lad joined the game, followed by a fourth and fifth and soon everyone had laid their anger and stubbornness aside and joined the game.

The ice had been broken and now it was time to move to stage two - getting the troops to determine if they were going to retreat back into the shell that was holding them captive or join forces and come up with a way out of the pit.  It was now time for me to hang up my keys and hit the road for home, but one did not have to be a rocket scientist to see something was happening in the group. They had opened the door a crack and we needed to move into the opening.  

 

Keep in mind that the only thing we had to work with was a set of keys and a Bingo game.  I held up my keys and said, "I am going home in a few minutes.  Where are you going?"  Silence!  I then said, "Could we do some talking and come up with a plan that will make your stay here less stressful?”

That night the group developed rules that provided a safety net for the pool table, the ping pong tables, the war-ball court and television room.  The end results, there were no riot-type outbreaks in the three years of my tenure.  A few fights, yes, but the troops prevented those from escalating into majors.  The point: they united their brains that night and did something the administration could not do because it affected them personally. 

Soooo, The rules were very effective and, I might add, gave the troops the comfort of knowing boundaries had been established and were being honored.  This opened the door for us to role model Paul's words found in Ephesians 4:31-32, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you".

Getting back to the question I asked yesterday, “Could a group of teen-agers address and solve many of the problem that hold our leaders in bandage?  After forty years of working with this age-group of young people, I declare an emphatic yes.  Why?  Because they are not tied up in politics, re-election, surrounded by lobbyist, or controlled by the donors that support them. 

These youth seemed to have a deep compassion for their others in their situation – to the point that it was passed on through the three years.  I do not believe we would hear the harsh rhetoric that has been flowing from the leaders of our nation who talk like they care about the public, but their actions leave much to be desired.

Blessings,

Gramps