LISTEN TO THE CRIES...

There is a sense of urgency gripping this nation. Poverty, neglect, and abuse are but symptoms of something much deeper and more profound. Put your ear to the ground and listen to the mournful, plaintive cries for…

HELP!

If my vocabulary were advanced, and I were more mature, these are the thoughts and words I would use to express myself:

I am a child of circumstance. I didn’t ask to be born. I had no say in who my parents would be, nor did I have a voice in the class, caste, color, or genetic disposition that is now my inheritance.

In fact, I am a child still without a voice and my silent cries for help are going unheard. Inside I am crying out but outside the sound is muffled by a confused mind too immature to understand the difference between good and bad, pain and pleasure, loved and unloved.

HELP!

I am a child whose emotions are still in the process of formation. My psyche is being shaped by what I hear, see, think, and feel and by how I am being treated. Sadly, those influences are totally out of my control.

I am so confused inside right now. Am I being beaten because I am a bad person? Only bad people are punished and treated this way, aren’t they? It has to be my fault. I must be a really bad person.

What am I doing wrong? I’m constantly being berated and reminded that I won’t amount to anything. It must be true. I believe it’s true, don’t you?

HELP!

I don’t like the way I am being touched and fondled. It scares me. I don’t dare tell anyone for fear of the consequences. Doesn’t this happen to everybody? I feel dirty inside. I must be a bad person. Am I a bad person?

HELP!

I feel so lonely. I have no friends and there is no one I can turn to who will understand the depth of my loneliness and pain. I am beginning to withdraw into myself. I’m acting out in ways not understood. My behavior is mistaken for sullenness and aloofness. Why am I so different?

I never hear the “love” word. I desperately want to be loved and accepted by anyone. I will do anything and try anything to merit that love. Anything!

HELP!

The options are so many. Will cigarette smoking make me feel like a real man? Will sexual experimentation improve my womanhood and increase my popularity? Will alcohol and drugs take away the pain and make me feel good? I wonder what it feels like to be “high?” I cry, “Help!” and the secular world responds quickly and efficiently. There seem to be no other options. It’s worth a try, isn’t it?

I feel like I am falling into the dark abyss. Everything is out of control. Please God, somebody… Please?

I am a child desperately calling out for help to anyone who will listen. I want to be accepted. I want to be somebody. I want to be loved--a gang, a cult, a subculture, anybody...

HELP!

Mine is the voiceless cry of every victimized child. Abuse, poverty, and neglect are no respecter of persons. We come in every shape, size, color, and culture. In the midst of these differences there is a commonality that bonds us together. We are young, malleable, and easily influenced. We have tremendous potential--for good or for bad. We are the future.

The way we are shaped will shape the future. We will imitate life. Our view of life is conditioned by the preview of life received in our formative years. We will imitate life. If life around us is distorted our view of life will become distorted. We will imitate life. If our perceptions are misguided our actions will be guided accordingly. We will imitate life.

HELP!

The reality we comprehend is formulated by the unreality that penetrates our limited and cloistered world. Our innocence is matched by our naiveté. We do not control our destiny. It is controlled by the handful of people around us, people who once represented the future, people who continue to imitate the life that was imitated for them.

We are looking for an angel. Only God’s representative angel can help us pierce the darkness and find the true light. Only an angel can help us change this inherited ugliness into real beauty. Only an intervening angel can help us break the never-ending cycle of despair and make hope happen. We are looking for God’s angel. Are you that angel?

HELP!

PDF Copy of full book here: www.bit.ly/HOPE4U