HOSEA 14:1 (KJV)
Lots of teenage girls have been in the same places I’ve been, and the only difference is, I got out of the situation. My grandmother raised my four siblings and me in Queens, New York. I was the middle child, and everyone said I was spoiled. Whenever I saw my siblings with something, I had to have it, and most of the time, I got it. For instance, both my older siblings joined the track team at our school, and I wanted to join. When I got on the team, I was better than my sibings, so they eventually quit. I excelled in track, indoor, outdoor, and cross-country. I traveled the country, went as far north as Toronto, Canada, as far west as Portland, Oregon, and as far south as Miami, Florida, and many stops between. This period of time lasted from elementary school until high school. Pretty soon after junior high school, I started hanging out with the wrong crowd. My older sister and brother were sent away to live with my father, so now I really had no guidance. It started small and simple. I was hanging out late. It didn’t seem like a big deal because everyone else was doing it too. But very quickly, it got out of control. Have you ever been there? That place where you know you need help, but you can’t stop the foolishness to get it? Thankfully, God was there all the time, and He didn’t let me spin totally out of control. He got my attention, and He wants yours too.
Lissete Russell, 19, Redemption Christian Academy, Troy, NY
Father; sometimes it takes a whole lot to get my attention.
Thank You for trying so hard to reach me,
even when I just refuse to listen.