One of my favorite things I do these days is speak in schools. Before I arrive, I try to talk to the counselor. If anyone knows what goes on behind the masks of junior high and high school girls, she does. Sometimes my heart hurts when I get off the phone with her. I found out disturbing things. Girls are skipping lunch to be skinnier. Girls are getting weird about food. Girls are dressing promiscuously, but it’s tough to do much about it since they are following their mother’s example. Girls are sharing their bodies with boys, girls are posting sexy images of themselves, girls are cyber bullying. Girls are being abused at home. Their parents are critical of their weight or grades. Girls are trying to be the perfect athlete to please Mom and Dad. Girls are cracking under the pressure to perform. Girls – even in junior high – are cutting and forming suicide pacts, or trying to recover from the pain of a friend who killed herself.
And you’ve called me? I think. Who am I? I am nothing but a girl who raised her hand one day and said, “Here I am! Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)
In my “You Are More” message to the girls – and sometimes boys too – I do my best to unmask the lies they have believed and tell them the truth: they are made for more than eating disorders, cutting and suicide; they are worth more than jealousy, bullying, and sexting. They possess beauty, worth, and purpose. It’s up to them to choose: live like you are less, or live like you are more.
When the boys are there, it’s amazing how many want to stand up and help the girls live like they are more. Even with their challenges, this generation of kids is fantastic; many are making great choices and will go to great destinations. Many choose love over hate, service over self, destiny over drugs, and faith over doubt. As a voice in their lives, I am incredibly proud of the people many of them will become.
What can we do about suicide pacts and cutting and abuse? What can we do about kids who feel alone in a sea of faces?
All I do is look to God for help. Then step on the stage and pour out my heart like I did the very first time.
There’s nothing like loving what you do, and doing what you love! To support the Just Say Yes program or come to our upcoming fundraiser, click here.
Gratefully,
Jennifer