Stand up For love

I spent this last weekend at a winter camp for our church youth, and many churches from our area. I stayed with our junior high guy students, and I learned something important. Pain, hurt, and sorrow don't start in high school. The realization that the world is a corrupt and fallen place can begin very early.

One of the guys, whose family attends our church, and he will soon be attending our youth ministry, told me about his life from a broken home. His mother and father are both remarried, divorced when he was 6 months old, yet they still constantly fight. So much so, that when he told our cabin this, his eyes filled with tears, and he couldn't finish the story.

Another boy came with his sister, after having recently been kicked out of their housing. They were staying with a friend until that friends landlord found out, and forced them to move out in 10 days. His mother is disabled, and cannot find a job, and yet our government will not give her disability to support her kids.

He and his sister spent their first night back with their mother in a shelter. He didn't understand how this wasn't normal.

A third guy I connected with told me about his friend, 13, who he wasn't sure he'd see again, because he was talking about suicide. His friend lives with his mom, and they are poor. They are currently living with a man who weighs 400 pounds, has severe medical issues, and has massive amounts of money. They live in his house, and this boy is constantly being yelled at and ridiculed by the man. he and his mother are waiting for the man to die, so they can inherit his money.

These three stories are 100% true, and they are happening under the roof of our church. These three boys are living lives corrupted by society and government. Why? Because our nation can't give money to those in need. Because one boys parents can't manage to keep their fighting hidden. Because lower class is all that another family feels like they can ever be.

And they say freedom is free.

So I have to ask myself, and the world in general, a question:

How fucked up does the world have to become before someone stands up and does something about it?

If you know me, you know I don't cuss a lot. Especially not in writing, but sometimes things are needed for emphasis.

So here's my plan: I want to raise awareness of these problems in our society. I want to be the voice for those who no one will listen to. I want to give people like these hope. I want them to know that God has a plan for them, and that it is greater than anything the world could offer.

So that is what I will do.

Help me Stand up For Love. Because, maybe its love that needs to be heard.

Aaron Jay