We have contact with so many troubled young people and their families, yet so often those we deal with are not willing to reveal what it is that troubles them. Below, you will read about one young woman’s pain in the form of a poem she wrote and sent to her mentor. Layell* is part of the Long Island Youth Mentoring King’s Courier (pen-pal) Ministry.
I’M 16 YEARS OLD
WONDERING WHY THE WORLD IS SO COLD
LITTLE GIRLS HAVING BABIES
THIS GENERATION IS CRAZY
I’M STRUGGLING TO STAY AWAY FROM THE STREETS
BUT THEY KEEP DRAGGING ME IN
I’M TRYING TO MAKE IT ON MY OWN 2 FEET
BUT I NEVER SEEM TO WIN
MY FAMILY IS SO LOST
THEY DUNNO WHAT TO DO
I PAID THE COST
GOT RAPED AT 15
BY SOMEONE I CALLED MY FRIEND
WANNA KILL THAT ______________ (expletive deleted)
PUT HIS LIFE TO AN END
THE SAME WAY HE DID TO MINE
I CRY AS I WRITE BUT I’M DIGGING DEEP INSIDE
BACK TO WHEN MY INNOCENCE WAS STILL APART OF ME
I WAS TOO CLOSE TO BEING SOMEONE’S MOTHER
I HAD 2 CHOICES SO I PICKED THE OTHER
IT HURT TO LET GO BUT I HAD TO DO IT
I WANNA LET SOMEONE KNOW I FEEL LIKE I BLEW IT †
Thankfully, the Lord has called Sherry*, Layell’s pen-pal mentor, to read her letters, to pray and plead her case before the Lord, to ask Him for the words, and then respond to Layell in love in her next letter. This scene is played out over and over again on a weekly basis as the love of Christ extends into the state prison system to young men and women who may otherwise never have the opportunity to hear about Jesus.
Please pray for our current prison ministry letter writers; that God will continue to give them the wisdom and perseverance to guide their young friends to the truth of who they were created to be; children of God. And please pray for more volunteers, perhaps even you. Will you commit to reaching out to one of the many children who are still waiting for someone to care.
“May the God of Peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20,21
