Writing Prompt #2

"You don’t get to pick where you’re from, but you always have control of where you’re going."

Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

I have had the privilege of attending Clarinda Academy once a month for a a little over a year now, and I have gotten to know quite a few of the students there. I am thrilled each time I go because I know that each student there is excited to see the group that I go with for their church services. I have heard many of the kids' stories...each one heart-breaking. They all have homes, families, and "friends" that they are not excited to go back to once they get discharged from The Academy.

Every Sunday, the boys and girls have separate church services. They are split according to gender. I have grown especially attached to the guys' group. When we go, they get into the music, they are attentive, and they love talking after the service. I have had many guys come up to me and tell me that they are seniors. I ask what they're going to do once they graduate, and they say, "I'm going to college. First one in my family to go." They have a mindset of what they want to do, where they want to go, and how they want to do it. However, the enviornment that they go back to is a huge obstacle that they have to go through. Either their friends, family, or a combination of both influence them in a very negative way, tempting them to tap back into drug use, criminal behavior, or other addictions. They tell me that they don't want to go back to that enviornment, and I pray with them about it each time. I remind them that though they're going into a dark enviornment, they can be a light that changes it. My friend Roberto just got discharged last week. He was not excited at all to go back, but he is determined on where he wants to go, when he wants to do it, and how it needs to get done.

It is true that you can't change where you came from, but you can be the light that helps change its negative traits, if any. Then you, and those in that darkness, will be brought to a better place than where you came.