Not "bad" kids...

I have had the privilege during the past few months to serve as leader of young people who needed to do some "community service." None of these young folk were in any serious trouble with the local departments, but had been careless in maintaining acceptable behavior. Things like staying out past the local curfew and misbehaving more than once in the classroom. During the course of time that I have spent with these young people, I have grown to appreciate each of them and to understand a little about their lives and situations, neither of which I will go into in this blog.




The reason I mention the above is because there are two young ladies cleaning our chapel area right now and they are here for the very first time. I wonder what it is that causes folk to behave in a manner that they know will cause them to serve "community service" time. No, it is not because they do not know what is in store for them because these are "repeat offenders!" [Written a bit in jest!]




I surmise that several things contribute to this form of misbehavior. In my humble opinion, one of the most frequent causes is lack of parental supervision and direction. In the cases this Summer, none had a solid family circle. In many of the families, one of the parents was completely absent due to abdicating his/her responsibility or completing their own "debt to society." With such an absence it falls on the single parent to provide a family income, therefore, absent from the home for hours at a time. We all know what happens when children are left unsurpervised!




Boredom! As I write this, school is just beginning for some, but not for all! Children have finished all of their Summer sports programs, vacations have long since been forgotten, and there is little to do except wait for the first school bell in the Fall. Never are the words, "idle hands are the devil's workshop," truer than at the end of Summer! I have some of those that I work with saying, "I am bored out of my mind! I can't just sit at home alone and do nothing!" Guess what? I understand...I really do!




Well, you get the idea! Rather than being super-critical of those who find themselves in some type of "trouble," we should be working to help them survive the lonely days of Summer! It would not take much for you to supervise some "community service" projects or, better yet, provide some type of adventure so that "community service" would not be necessary!




Any ideas? Please, share them with me.