Parental Awareness

I remember a conversation with a justifiably concerned Christian mother who had been blind-sided by some issues with her thirteen-year-old son. Her son was struggling emotionally after a break-up with a girl. Yes, kids are having those kinds of relationships at the age of thirteen. But there’s more to the story. The relationship was only two-weeks old when it ended and the two had never met face to face. It was relationship that involved chatting through Facebook. Still, the boy was devastated. . . so devastated that he started cutting himself in an effort to deal with his emotional pain. The good news in this story is that mom was watching her son carefully and was in tune with what was happening in his life. She didn’t choose to look the other way. She intervened. She asked questions, and she got him help. This story and others like it are happening all around us. If we’re not looking, the story unfolding right under our nose is one we might miss. Spend time with your kids. Ask questions. Talk about life. And if they are struggling, get them help.