The link to the an article in the Oregonian is no longer live. It described a teenage girl who fought off an assailant:
“The teenager managed to find a pencil and stab him near the groin.
The stranger let go, and as he bent over in pain, she kneed him in the nose.”
It does my heart good to know that there is a bozo with evil intentions wandering around with a broken nose and a pencil wound in his privates!
And that there is a gutsy teenager who is not willing to be the victim. You go, Girl!!
Now, here’s the question: In a world where such things happen, what are we who are in the world but not of it called to do? When violence is evident; when courage is demonstrated, is there a response that should be awakened in us? Should the city “tween the worlds” somehow be a city of refuge for the teens who were not so gutsy, or so fortunate? Something to think about…
Having worked with teenagers for several years, I can think of only one description of the city “tween the worlds” that fits as well as refuge–home.
Teenagers have so much capacity for service and love that remains untapped because they are constantly on guard as strangers in the strange land of peer pressure, parental neglect, emotional/physical violence/abuse, and the hormonal disaster of puberty.
My dream is to see the family of God, and particularly biological families, become the home and refuge for these beautiful teenagers.
Couldn’t have said it better. Seems to me that living between the worlds should begin with the home where our families are. And if there are those among us without such a refuge, the community ought to be willing to provide it as best it can. Much word to be done on this side of heaven.
Dan