Someone's About to Get FOUL Up in There!

15 year old girls are fascinating for numerous reasons. They talk in foreign and unknown languages ("OMG I'm about to get foul up on you, if you don't shut the front-door, Edna!"). Their addictions mirror objects either eskimos or 90yr old women would find handy (i.e. Ugg boots and Vera Bradley handbags). And their moodswings might cause anyone within a 5 foot radius verbal whiplash ( *screaming* "MMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!" *smiling* "I love you"). But, these are not the tales to be told in this particular blog, no. I am here to write about the more recent fascination of 15 year old girls (and no, it is not to teen pregnancy shows because that is a WHOLE 'nother ballgame) but instead, to the interest in prison life!

And I won't lie, I am just as addicted to shows like LockUp as the next person, but have found it curious why a young girl (my cousin *to remain discrete we will call her Smashley* to be more specific) finds this topic so enticing. There has yet to be an explination on why this subject matter is so addicting to her, but you can be if Lock Up is on I will be getting a text that says "LOCKUP!!!!" haha. I find it hysterical actually.

But last night, the humor was sucked out of the scenario of my little Smashley (jokingly of course) saying she wanted to see what prison was really like because it was so interesting, when I stumbled across a new show on A&E called "Beyond Scared Straight". This show takes at-risk youth into prison to basically scare the hell out of them, in attempts to set their path straight. The episode on last night was a group of young girls, ages 12-17. Again, I was sucked into the allure of learning about prison life. However, this time it was a little different.

These teens were allocated there through some type of program, counseler or parent recomendation, probation, etc. Their offenses? Vandalism, robbery, kidnapping, terroristic threats, fighting, underage drinking, drugs, etc. Throughout the course of this day the girls are given a tour of the prison by a select handful of innmates (yes, they were hardcore). At another point in the day the girls hear of some of the prisoners stories and how they ended up there. One girl, now in her late 20's, is serving a 15-life sentence for (2nd degree murder) for basically, being a party girl. She was wasted at a party, told a group of guys whom she had enticed that "so and so" had some money she wanted, and they went and killed the guy in front of her. Hearing her story broke her heart, because you could see in her eyes and through her tears, and through her desperate pleas to these young girls to turn their life around, that she had truly changed-and seen the error of her ways. But she will, more than likely, forever be a prisoner being punished for a crime she is remorseful over.

During a tour of the courtyard (I say tour, but really it is a chance for the young girls to be harrassed and tortured by the innmates there) one of the 12 year old girl's saw her mother. The mother pleaded with the daughter "I dont want to see you in here. PLEASE dont make the same mistakes I have!" and so on and so forth.

For some of these children, the experience was life-changing. For a few, it did nothing to help. Throughout the course of the show, at various times, I found myself sobbing for these young girls. Hearing about how they smoke weed and party and fight in school. They all cussed very frequently, completely disrespected their moms or dads, and all had SO much anger inside of them.

Hear me now audience. SATAN IS ATTACKING OUR YOUTH. Yes. ATTACKING. OUR. YOUTH. We've known it is true, but are we actively doing anything to stop or prevent it? Of the 10 girls in the program do you want to know a common denominator for 90%? Living in a single parent home. Of that 90%, over half were abandoned by a parent where the other 30-40% were a product of divorce. SATAN IS ATTACKING OUR YOUTH THROUGH BREAKING UP OUR FAMILIES.

If marriage (and when I say "if" I am saying, this is a FACT) glorifies God then Satan is going to do his very best to DESTROY marriages. If you are MARRIED and you find yourself one day looking at your partner thinking "hmm...I just dont think I love them anymore" Uh, NYELLOW!? SATAN! If you are MARRIED and you wakeup one day having found yourself in an affair for over a year unsure of how you got there, Uh NYELLOW? SATAN!! (WHOA, did NOT mean to get off on a marriage tangent. That's a whole nother ballgame as well.)

Back to our kiddos. Ok. So these girls are angry and sobbing out for help. They are dying to feel loved. Dying to feel accepted. And dying to feel wanted by those around them. As a parent, as church, as aunts, as uncles, as ADULTS, it is OUR JOB to ensure that these children KNOW how much they are loved, KNOW how much they are wanted, and KNOW they are accepted by us. Because when they without a doubt or question in their mind believe that is true, they can more easily believe and accept and FEEL the TRUE, UNCONDITIONAL love of Christ. I am living testimony to being a product of not only abandonment but also divorce. I am living testimony to NOT feeling wanted by my parents. I am living testimony to NOT having family who fought for me and fought for my heart. I am living testimony to being left out in the cold and then feeling like I am a burden on all the angels who have attempted to help me out along the way. Because SATAN wants me to continue to feel unloved, unwanted, and unaccepted. He starts running these programs so early in life that it is SCARY!

I know I am not a parent, but I had parents once. I am someone who statistically shouldve ended up a HELL of alot worse but through the Love and Grace of God amongst prayer warriors and angels He has sent to protect me along the way, I have made it through the other side. Not in jail. Not pregnant. With no STD's, with no bad record, with a semi-great attitude. And most importantly. MY LIFE.

But I...am one of the lucky ones. And last night's show reminded me how we all need so desperately need to be PRAYING for our youth that they may know the love of God. PRAYING for their parents and families, that they will NOT listen to the lies of satan but instead to the truth of God. PRAYING for our teachers and counselors and coaches who handle these kids on a daily basis. PRAYING for our youth ministers, that they stop treating youth group like a party and start teaching these kids how to desciple and speak truth and Christi-identity into the lives of their peers! When you look into the eyes of a stranger at the grocery store, you may never know if they are on the front lines of a child's life-a child who may only be hanging on by a thread. LET US STOP ALLOWING SATAN TO ENGULF OUR CHILDREN THROUGH MEANS IN WHICH WE ESSENTIALLY HAVE CONTROL (at least a heck of alot more control then they do).

The brokenness in our youth today, has GOT to end somewhere. Why not here.

Meg