School's Out!

My son's last day of school was before Memorial Day. Some kids don't get out until mid-June, but there is always a great celebration and kids get very excited to tell people their summer plans. They have a grand idea of lazy days, many hours of swimming and going and doing lots of fun things.

What about the kids who don't look forward to summer? They don't dare tell their classmate that summer is a time when they don't know when or even if they will have food. Summer means more time to kill and more time for adults to use and abuse them. That vacation "break" means long hours with nothing much to do and nowhere to go, unless you are trying to find a new place to hide.

My aunt and uncles say my dad was the best at hiding when their father came home - as a result, he wasn't beat much. My father grew up in a very poor family. He used to sit on the roof of their shack with a .22 and watch for his mom and sister walking home from the grocery store. He wanted to try and protect them. His older brothers got him started selling newspapers on the street corner when he was in elementary school so he could have money to buy dinner. He worked all the way through school in order to have food to eat and money to buy his own clothes. He joined the military right out of high school because it was guaranteed pay, room and board and he could send home money to his mother. My dad was fortunate that he had a mother who truly loved him and tried the best she could with her 8th grade education to raise a family.

Children in these situations are very likely to be trafficked. Many have little to lose and not much to go home to. Some have parents that don't care and some already have been traumatized in their own homes, many by their own family.

Let's remember to pray for children - the younger they are, the more vulnerable. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14 and Luke 18:16. What are you doing to remove barriers? Are you a hindrance to children coming to Jesus?