Dylan was suspended from school on Friday, and spent most of last night in a Juvenile Delinquent Center, because his friend shoplifted $400 worth of merchandise and Dylan is guilty by association. While I’d love to say that Dylan just had a bad couple of days, it’s not true. Things have been spiraling down since the beginning of this semester.
He was doing so well. His teachers, his principal, his mom, the other people at church - no one could believe how well things were going for him. And now my mind wanders and wonders and I think to myself that maybe none of us should have ever expected much. Maybe we gave him too much credit, and maybe it was just what economists call a “dead cat bounce” - there’s no hope, but things inexplicably improve for a short while. (This is based on the mildly entertaining yet graphic theory that even a deceased feline will bounce if dropped from a great height.) Or maybe it’s me, maybe my head got too big, maybe I’m completely unprepared to mentor any kid, maybe I should just quit tryi….
Enough.
I’ve long had it with the name-it-and-claim-it crowd. God does not give us everything we ask for, even it seems to be beneficial. But I’ve also had it with the notion that there is ever an end to hope. I believe in a God who calls into being what is not. (Rom. 4:17)
If I had to make a guess, I will see more of this from Dylan before I see less. But I refuse for him to be overtaken by evil, and I renounce any power of darkness that would seek to destroy his future. Even though he doesn’t know it, yet, he is a child of light. God has already staked his claim. Satan doesn’t even have squatter’s rights on this precious boy. He belongs to the shepherd who goes into dark places to find lost sheep.
When did this post turn into a prayer?