By David Coy
Sunrise
A study was done on gang activity in which it was noted that members had similar attributes. Most involved those who were runaways, dropouts, kids on drugs and teens in prison. Of these, most also came from fatherless homes. It was observed that when a father is absent children are five times more likely to commit suicide and abuse drugs and 20 times more likely to go to prison. We know death is no respecter of persons, but did you realize it is also no respecter of youth, gender, or social status? Death is a painful tutor and reminder of our human physical condition (Job 7:6-7). Often, when we lose someone through death, we feel like we are in a dark tunnel and that our feelings are all over the place. It has been described like one who has experienced an amputation, you know it is no longer there, but you intuitively behave as if it were. Will we be angry for the time we did not have or be grateful for the time we had?
What about the grief that exists in a child where the father is absent? We have just a few short years to influence a child. Do we care or are we content with just getting by as an okay father or being absent altogether? Deep sorrow comes as a result of fatherless homes and scars that last a lifetime. Prison is full of men and women abandoned by their fathers or wounded by the men who should have loved them the most. Act of violence against a child or any human being is not the act of a godly person or a person who has any relationship with divine nature. Sadly, many children follow the same or worse immoral pattern of the bad example set before them in their parent or guardian. Courage is love, kindness and gentleness in the home. Waynesboro grief support group meeting is this week, and the first week of the month is Bolivar. Please come and join us and bring someone with you.
This is Sunrise Aftercare.
