Life Changing Truth...

This afternoon, as I was studying in the living room, Nate, Biruk, and his friend, Metch, came barreling into the house singing at the top of their lungs, "Bro-time...yeah it's awesome.  We're having Bro-time, yeah it's awesome."  Biruk's look was priceless.  He had on a winter hat of Nate's that was about 4 times the size of his head with a pom pom on top that was about 4 times the size of the hat (yes...I did buy this for Nate at one point...don't ask).  He had this huge wet sloppy smile on his face (due to the drool that seems to have invited itself into our lives forever).  He looked like he didn't have a care in the world.  Life was good.

Contrast that with my afternoon yesterday, where I found myself struggling to find the right words to share with a teenage girl, who had been hospitalized due to a depression that had led to the desire to take her own life.  The burdens of the world were literally crushing her soul and life looked anything but good.

What happens between 2 and 14?

This week, I was reminded that life happens.  Disappointment is real.  Sometimes we are dealt cards in life that are unfair.  People are unkind.  Circumstances can trip us up.  Loneliness is heartbreaking.  And pain causes us to do things that don't make sense.

What do we do with that?  What do we say to the teenager who doesn't even know what joy looks like? What do we say to the 14 year old girl I passed in the hallway of the hospital yesterday whose face and arms were covered in fresh cuts due to a self-hate.  What do we say to the kid who feels like no one even knows he is there as he walks through the hallways of his school every day?

Maybe we remind them that they are deeply loved.
Maybe we remind them that they are heard.
Maybe we remind them that they have been created for something specific in this world.
Maybe we remind them that they are not alone.
Maybe we remind them that they worth more than they could ever imagine.
Maybe we remind them that that their circumstances don't define them.
Maybe we remind them that they haven't been forgotten.

I'm not sure that we will ever have the exact right words to speak, share book worthy advice, or walk away from some of the most broken situations feeling like we "fixed" something.  I'm not sure that is our job in this world.  Our job is to speak the truth.  And the truth is, there is a God who can bring hope and healing into this world.  He loves us.  He hears us.  He has created us for a purpose in this world.  He is with us.  He calls us people of value.  He creates beauty out of brokenness.  He has not forgotten us.

When I tuck my little 2 year old into bed each night, the one who doesn't have a care in the world, the one who drools incessantly, the one who loves life like it's his job, do I find myself hoping he will never have to experience the pain, brokenness and hurt that permeates our world?  Without a doubt! But I am realistic enough to know that those things will be inevitable in this lifetime.  I'm not a perfect parent.  There will be times where my advice will seem useless, my words will seem meaningless, and I will be face to face with brokenness in my own child's life.  My choice will be to speak what I know to be true...he is loved.  He is valued.  He has purpose.

Whether Biruk is 2 or 25 I want to be a mom that chooses to speak truth.  As I find myself praying these words over him each night, "Father show him that he is loved, that he is valued, and that you have something awesome for him to do in this world," I pray that they will be more than just words.  I pray that they will be life changing truth.

May that be the truth that sets our kids free.




  


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