Blog

If I haven't mentioned yet I work in a juvenile correctional center in the state the of Idaho.  I work with teens that have made some pretty serious mistakes and that have had life throw thema rotten hand.  So for me coming to work is a cornucopia of oppertunities to share bits of my testimony and faith.  And the most accessible way for my to talk with kids is to start drawing.  I bring my sketch pad to work and sit at a chair in the middle of the room and start to let my pencil fly.  Because of where I'm at I always keep one eye on the kids around me, looking for potential arguements of fights.  But what I end up finding the most is the kids peering over my shoulder and wanting to see what's on the page before me.

So yesterday a new juvenile that is now in the program where I work took the "artistic" bait and watched me as a drew a picture of "antman" (by the way I posted a picture of it).  He ended up sitting down and asked me if I could show him how to draw a pheonix.  Recognizing this as an oppertunity from God, I stopped what I was doing and instructed him to get some paper and a pencil.  About a half hour into my impromptu art lesson the subject changed from how to draw to how to live a good life.  It was almost seemless how the one subject flowed to the next.  God blessing the conversation as I could see the boy's heart soften with the words that were spoken.  I said to him the very words that I sometimes need to hear myself.  Words of forgiveness, and letting go, about courage to do what is right and breaking the chains of a negative legacy.  Knowing that mistakes happen and God is there to pick us up. 

I was told in sermons and by my brothers in Christ the three types of men a christian man needs in his life. A mentor, a friend, and someone to mentor.  I am blessed to have a stockpile of kids I can mentor. I feel that my mentoring to the kids that I work with is more of a blessing to me than to them.  I highly recommend that if you don't have someone to mentor, to find someone to mentor.  You'll find that your own questions and problems in life are often answered when you mentor someone else.  Mentoring gives you a chance to take stock of your own dilemas and realize that you aren't alone, and usually finding that your own problems aren't as bad as you think.

God bless.