Steve Siler & Shelly Beach: Another Kind of Special Needs
Sometimes my eyes are so focused on special needs, I forget that families who don’t live in this world face difficulties, too.
Steve Siler’s Song for Wounded Teens
You can listen to Steve’s moving song by clicking on Renee is Fourteen. It’s a reminder of the challenges of growing up as a typical teen in this fallen world.
Shelly Beach’s Devotion
Shelly’s devotion shines another light on how Christians can make a difference by showing Christ’s compassion to widows and orphans like Renee.
Renee is Fourteen
On a sizzling Saturday in May, my daughter Jessica – a college freshman – took me hostage. Grasping my arm, she walked me four blocks from her Chicago campus to Cabrini Green, a housing project known for its high crime rate.
She navigated me quickly through an open courtyard and up five flights of dark, narrow stairs to meet the tween “Little Sister” she’d been mentoring through the Big Sisters program. Several times a week Jessica walked to Lakisha’s apartment, then brought her to campus to hang out.
Was I proud of my daughter? Yes. But I was also fearful. On one occasion the girls had been trapped inside the apartment as shots rang out in the courtyard and hallways outside. Fearing a stray bullet, Jessica had led Lakisha out the fifth floor fire escape to safety.
But after my visit to Cabrini that day, I learned something frightening about myself. I cared far more for my daughter’s safety than I cared about children who lived in jeopardy every day of their lives. I looked at Cabrini Green and Lakisha through the veil of my own fear and need. My daughter looked at Cabrini and her little sister through Jesus’ eyes.
My prayer today is that I grow more like my daughter. That I see the broken and wounded as my own. And that, like Jessica, I learn to pour out my life with the same lavish love Jesus poured on me.
What Can I Do?
Many of you have your hands full caring for a child with special needs. Still, if any of you have ideas of how we can reach out to teens like Renee please leave a comment.
Jolene
