That is NOT Normal

Posted on Monday, January 22, 2018 by WMYFC

WHAT EXACTLY IS NORMAL?

According to healthychildren.org, "normal" is support; love and caring for other family members; providing security and a sense of belonging; open communication; making each person within the family feel important, valued, respected and esteemed.

Let me give you a sense of what "normal" is in the world Youth for Christ enters:

For Juan, it's living in fear of the Mexican Cartel and being abducted

For Adrian, it's going "off grid" for months

For Elena, it's living in a home plagued with alcohol addiction

For Yesenia, it's walking the streets at all hours because of her parents' uncontrollable rage

For Eriana, it's expecting police visits and CPS investigations

For Joanna, it's living in an environment of hoarding

For Michelle, it's having a mom who insisted she abort her unborn baby

For M.J., it's being asked to move out because dad's live-in girlfriend doesn't want him around

This is an abbreviated list of what we see as "normal".  None of these real-life scenarios is remotely the picture of support, love, caring, security, belonging, value...  And we are tempted to say  "That's SO not normal." 

But for Juan and Adrian and Elena and Yesenia and Eriana and Michelle and Joanna and M.J. - IT IS.

     

SMALL VICTORIES

We hold on to the small victories we see... miracles actually.  We see kids attend winter camp and accept Jesus as Savior. We get texts from kids who say, "I feel like Campus Life is my family". We experience kids opening up for the first time about what's "normal" in their lives. Trust is gained. Love is demonstrated. And a sense of belonging happens for the very first time in their lives. I stand corrected - these are actually LARGE victories!

For ALL the kids,

Dan Kregel
Executive Director, WMYFC