"I am bent over
and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long. For my loins are filled with burning, and
there is no soundness in my flesh. I am
benumbed and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart"
(Psa. 38:6-8).
Hey Gang: Read that
scripture again. Have you ever felt that
way? Perhaps I should rephrase the
question and ask, “Have you ever come face to face with a person who feels that
way and their life is a perfect picture of what is described here? In the last morning message I introduced you
to Ted, a vibrant sixteen-year old who was a real pro at making wrong decisions. But he did make decisions! Did you know it is, oh, so much easier to
change the direction of a moving vehicle than one that is stuck in the ‘no go’
position?
Ted was a lad who was filled with zeal, and even enthusiasm,
because he knew who he was. Now that was
not all good because his zeal and enthusiasm was not attached to, the often
missing attributes called ‘common sense’ and "knowing that we reap what we sow". These were often missing in the young lads
that passed through the portals of the judicial system. I loved the challenge of the Ted's of the
world. In our camping programs I always
gravitated to the little ‘rip-snorters" that could turn a peaceful event
into a roaring fire in mere seconds.
This morning I want to introduce to the second reason I up
dumped my family and set out on a trail and I did not have a clue where it was
going to lead me. For two years my bride
introduced me as "An unemployed director of a non-existent boy’s
home".
His name was Dennis; he was the perfect picture of the Scripture
of the morning. He was well known to me,
for he had been in the juvenile hall on several previous occasions, mostly for
what we referred to as ‘dingy-type offenses’.
On one occasion the policeman, who brought Dennis in for booking said, “I
would normally take this type kid home, but he really has no home and I thought
a couple days of food and a warm bed would be good for him.
I might make a side comment here: in this day, when many
have turned their backs on those guys in blue who put their lives on the line
daily to keep us safe, were the only friends many of the kids, I was worked
with, had.
I did not have to ask Dennis many of the questions on the
intake form, for I knew them well. As I
looked into his eyes that night, I saw a fifteen-year old boy who was bent over
and greatly bowed down, with no soundness in his flesh, who was benumbed and
badly crushed, whose eyes had long since faded. I saw a lad who had been crushed by life
itself and had given up on ever being anything but a "nothing burger";
a lad who was not going anywhere.
Dennis was not booked in, that rainy night in April for a
dingy-type offense. He had committed a major felony, that was the culmination
of a life that was not going anywhere and "was bent over and greatly bowed down and had no soundness off flesh." In the last blog I answered the question,
"Why Eagle Village!" The
answer was incomplete.
I was assigned to glean the previous records and develop a
recommendation for what should be done with Dennis. As I gleaned the records I found a very common
denominator in his records - on each occasion he had not asked, not suggested,
but literally begged that we would send him some place where they would love
him, care for him, teach him, and give him what he had never had in his life -
a friend!
It was that night that I went home and said to my bride, I will either
do something for the Ted's and Dennis's of the world or I will become a
"plumber’s helper."
Soooo, With your permission, I will close this morning
message as I did the last one. I cannot
improve on what has been tucked away deep inside my gut for all these
years. What is the nuts of bolts of this
morning message? Luke wrapped it up in seven wonderful words, "Give and it will be given to
you". John wrote, "For God so loved He Gave". Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News”, and ‘Jesus
loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so”.
Why Eagle Village? Because, Jesus loves me! And
I want every child that brings their baggage of pain and agony to my door step
to know that. I want them to know there
is a Savior who loves them and died, that one day all the hurts will be gone
and they will run and leap and praise God in that place called
"Paradise."
I pray you will join with me and pray for each, of the more
than one hundred children who are at Eagle Village today, because God provided
for all the wildernesses we experienced as we followed His commission to
"Go and build a refuge for hurting children".
Blessings,
Gramps
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