So, yesterday I posted about a talk I did at our second day of camp. It was a talk about the lies we believe about ourselves that are not true. Here is the post for you to read. Below I have posted a handful of index cards that 8-12 year olds wrote. Just a few anonymous cards that communicate powerful lies. These are the cards that punched me in the gut. We collected about 800 cards with lies just like these. Disgusting, isn’t it.
I didn’t really anticipate how this message was going to affect me. I didn’t realize that the hundreds of kids who walk in and out of my church every single day are holding on to some rotten lives that are weighing them down. Many of these lies are coming from their friends, their siblings, media and other peers. Many of these lies are even coming from their parents.
I guess I’m writing this post because I feel that you and I can make a difference in this area. Yes, we can try to leverage the influence we have with parents to help these kids begin to believe something different. But when lies are coming from every single direction, you can’t stop the all. However, you can be the singular voice of truth. Sometimes a kid only has to hear it from one person… and that can make all the difference.
At this time, I recognize the need for me to tell the children I encounter how special they are. I need to tell them that they are masterpieces that are brilliant, beautiful and priceless… full of worth and value.
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Thank you for this post. I urge parents and all adults with interaction with kids to show them how special and loved they are. Stop the lies and let all children know that they are treasured by God and us.
This post hits home because last week my own parent told me I was worthless…yes I’m an adult now, but I’m still someone’s child and that person continues to fill me with lies about myself. It still hurts just as much now as when I was little.
However, I know I am not worthless because I am a child of God, here to live a life planned by my ultimate Father who loves me unconditionally. Please let’s stop the lies!!
Great thought Kenny. Remind me of a line I read this morning in Michelle Anthony’s “Spiritual Parenting”:
“All this time had passed, and yet she remembered that when she had made a bad decision I didn’t send her away …but rather I brought her close.” (p. 74).