We take so much for granted.
The last few years we've heard a lot about teenagers, kids actually, who have faced so much more than any child should have to face by the time they reach 18.
Some of them are in foster care. Others are in group homes. Either way, at age 18, state funding stops. A few of the lucky ones are allowed to stay on with their foster parents, but most either don't or can't.
Can you imagine graduating from high school and suddenly facing life with no finances, no car, and becoming responsible for everything - a place to live, a vehicle, food, living expenses - on a high school diploma? Most of them attempt to attend a community college, but the completion rate for such students is very low.
There's no loving Mom & Dad to send a care package when the semester gets tough. No card with a check in the mail from a concerned person in your home church. When that car breaks down? There's no Dad to come fix it while you drive his to your part-time job. And when illness strikes 4 months into your first semester? There's no Mom to bring you home to see your family's general practitioner, nor help you make a decision about sitting out the next semester or hanging tough. School loan? There's no one to co-sign or back you up.
Every year as I hear these stories, my heart breaks for kids like this.
I had the privilege of attending a private, Christian college. One of the girls I worked with in the cafeteria was from a children's home. She was one of the sweetest, hard-working, and devout believers I met during my four years. Had it not been for the South Carolina churches and women's group helping out, there's no way she could have made it through. But for me, one of the saddest things to witness was watching her search for "home" during the holidays. The directors of her home allowed her to stay in their personal house with them since she was no longer eligible to stay in home dorms. I know how difficult it was for me for my parents to move while I was overseas and come home to a strange place, but I cannot imagine the void of wanting to go home for spring break or winter holidays and there simply be no definite place or people to go home to.
Not sure what the answers are, but we're praying for a young man who is desperately praying for scholarships so he can attend a pharmacy program at a state university. He's being realistic and has applied and been accepted at a local community college in case the funds don't come through for his dream. He's also working and saving money now for the months ahead when he's on his own. If he doesn't receive positive word in the next month, I may ask you to join me in praying about how you can sacrificially help this young man who has a dream, but no parents to help him fulfill it. Some days it seems everywhere you turn someone is asking for money. Wouldn't it seem worthwhile to help someone who's NOT asking for it but clearly needs it?
The last few years we've heard a lot about teenagers, kids actually, who have faced so much more than any child should have to face by the time they reach 18.
Some of them are in foster care. Others are in group homes. Either way, at age 18, state funding stops. A few of the lucky ones are allowed to stay on with their foster parents, but most either don't or can't.
Can you imagine graduating from high school and suddenly facing life with no finances, no car, and becoming responsible for everything - a place to live, a vehicle, food, living expenses - on a high school diploma? Most of them attempt to attend a community college, but the completion rate for such students is very low.
There's no loving Mom & Dad to send a care package when the semester gets tough. No card with a check in the mail from a concerned person in your home church. When that car breaks down? There's no Dad to come fix it while you drive his to your part-time job. And when illness strikes 4 months into your first semester? There's no Mom to bring you home to see your family's general practitioner, nor help you make a decision about sitting out the next semester or hanging tough. School loan? There's no one to co-sign or back you up.
Every year as I hear these stories, my heart breaks for kids like this.
I had the privilege of attending a private, Christian college. One of the girls I worked with in the cafeteria was from a children's home. She was one of the sweetest, hard-working, and devout believers I met during my four years. Had it not been for the South Carolina churches and women's group helping out, there's no way she could have made it through. But for me, one of the saddest things to witness was watching her search for "home" during the holidays. The directors of her home allowed her to stay in their personal house with them since she was no longer eligible to stay in home dorms. I know how difficult it was for me for my parents to move while I was overseas and come home to a strange place, but I cannot imagine the void of wanting to go home for spring break or winter holidays and there simply be no definite place or people to go home to.
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:26-27
Not sure what the answers are, but we're praying for a young man who is desperately praying for scholarships so he can attend a pharmacy program at a state university. He's being realistic and has applied and been accepted at a local community college in case the funds don't come through for his dream. He's also working and saving money now for the months ahead when he's on his own. If he doesn't receive positive word in the next month, I may ask you to join me in praying about how you can sacrificially help this young man who has a dream, but no parents to help him fulfill it. Some days it seems everywhere you turn someone is asking for money. Wouldn't it seem worthwhile to help someone who's NOT asking for it but clearly needs it?
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