Earlier in the day, I was involved in an intense display of belief in God for who He is, what He says, and what He has accomplished on my behalf before I was born. More subtle acts of this have carried on during the last five hours, and it has allowed me some opportunities to examine. More recently, while talking with a friend I was asked about the images and occurrences of the industry I work in. Pleasantly, the majority of his questions weren't referring to those who benefit from this industry with financial profit. Instead, his interest hung on the welfare of the serviced men, women, and children in the mental and behavioral health field. That interest cleared the way for me to share about a couple heroes of mine; and think.
Sensitivity to experience is dying with this generation. This is not to say that brutal violence and disgraceful abuse only popped off in the 21st century, but the technology that propels information has given visual access of carnage to the masses. Some people out of these masses, for whatever reason, have adopted and performed what they saw. This was clearly seen during the protests in University Park, Pennsylvania, as large groups of Penn State students crowded sections of the town and the PSU campus. A large majority of the mob came to express their disgust of the firing of head football coach Joe Paterno (who participated in a cover up of child molestation on behalf of the school), with a select few voicing concerns with the cover up he was involved in. And although the mobs' stance was one of admiration, media outlets replicated the attention of Paterno but made the destruction of his character their viewpoint. It's certainly easy to fall into such a defeated demeanor that was shown on both sides, that's why it's very important to remember the fullness of salvation.
And so, two of my heroes were orphaned teenagers when I was struggling to be a man in my twenties. They were both victims of the type of abuse the Penn State football program enacted on [allegedly] 8 or more boys; but because the offenders to the orphans were family members, the orphans' stories could be counted as worse. The kids, which I supervised for a couple years, were genieuses in their own right but were also still teenagers dealing with trauma. So the scars of molestation could and would pop up in many forms of aggression and regression at any time, during any occasion. Without me living their lives I could see it in their eyes daily. There were times that no matter how my staff or I viewed their progression, they themselves expressed hopelessness. Yet both of them had incredible resilience and determination to be somebody positive. And they did just that through education and service; unintentionally giving back growth to the places they rose from.
Because I was blessed with years to witness these two young men's transformations, I share with you the thought that success will come from these "PSU" young men, who have had the most challenging experiences imaginable. Yes, there has been severe moments of despair, confusion and depression for probably all of them. And some of them may have choosen [temporary] paths where survival appears unlikely. But there will be those who will become leaders among leaders; just like we have. Those of us who have not had to deal with such shame should not predict troubling futures for those who have had to endure. For that would imply that we or our guardians are the primary reason for our comfortable lives; and that is by no means true. In addition, to assume that is to believe the enemy's attack will last a lifetime when the truth is the Lord "forgives all your iniquities, and heals all your sins (Psalm 103:3 NKJV); including the sins we committed by will or by force, as well as the ones that were started before we had an understanding that it was evil.
In the powerful name of Jesus the Messiah, I declare healing for the young men who suffered under the covering of Penn State, and abused people world wide.
Peace
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