My pastor last Sunday talked about a documentary he had seen entitled “Homeboy Industries” which was about this priest who tried to help men in LA who had rough pasts, men who had spent time in jail, done drugs, been alcoholics, men who had a hard time getting jobs because of their pasts. This priest spends his days working with these men helping them to secure jobs and more than that get a secure hold on their lives.
In the documentary the interviewer asked the priest – “So you believe that every person deserves a second chance?” The priest answered, “Yes I do, but most of the men I work with have never been given a first chance.”
This response struck me. This response I think rings true for many of the youth I work with – they have never been given a first chance – life has not offered them a first chance.
They have not been given a first chance to succeed, to love, to walk down a healthy path, to not give their bodies away, to not do drugs, to not drink, to not steal, to not believe their worthless, to not believe they can be loved apart from sex, to not believe that they are capable of good.
Instead these youth were born into families without fathers, mothers, into families held captive to drugs, alcohol, poverty, and sex. These youth were born into families of generations of people who weren’t given a first chance.
I do believe that all people deserve a second chance, but I think so many that we think need a second chance were never given a first. I want to help them have a first chance.
the days are long but the years are short
8 years ago
1 comment:
Thankfully there are people like you that take the time and energy to give these young people the second chances they need. You have no idea how much I look up to you and all you do.
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