IT'S TIME TO REFLECT
IT'S TIME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

Greetings. I hope all is well in health and spirit. I wanted to share something with you.

Since the release of A Mother’s Cry-He’s Still My Child. I have received a very diversified group of reflections about the book and I invite your e-mails so that I may post them on my website. All have been very positive, except for one; and I can understand his feelings. The single parents, dual parents, grandparents, pastors, police officers, judges, males, females, whites, blacks, Puerto Ricans, and other ethnic groups, adults without children, inmates, and youth are reading this book and verbally giving me feedback about how empowering it is and how once they start reading it, they just couldn’t put the book down.

I’m so thankful for that because I originally had a focus on mothers and children, but it goes to show that God’s word is true, when it says that my thoughts are not His thoughts and His thoughts are not mine. God had a bigger plan for this book and I am so thankful that I accepted His spirit of boldness, but humbleness to write it.

Getting to the point of what I really wanted to share with you. Today, I received a call. I am always glad to hear feedback, but this feedback truly caught me off guard. It took me back “in that moment.” For a minute, I was so very angry. After the effect of the anger, it was as if I was stabbed in the heart. I was emotionally hijacked and experienced a piercing hurt that, actually, made be cry.

One of my readers received the book and after 3 days sent feedback. She sent word to me that she recognizes one of the incidents that I wrote about, very clearly, because she was a student at the school during that time. She knew all of the characters, who have no names in the book. She went as far as sending word to me that Shawntae’ did not hit the Assistant Principle with the snow ball. But get this - it was a lead football player whom actually did it-- and a number of people knew it. However, because of his position on the football team, school authorities didn’t want him suspended, so Shawntae was targeted, because he had the documented reputation that fit the action.

What a blow, except the snowball hit my heart. Now, I understand how she could be so cold that day when she expelled him from school – even when I asked her what was I going to do with a 14 or 15 year old who would have all day to be alone. Her reply, “That’s not our problem, that’s yours.” And he was a special education student. This goes to show that one who deceives does not have a conscious or a warm heart at the time of the deception. That’s why I subtitled my book, “journey of balancing a challenging child in a deceitful world.”

You know, knowing this honestly took me back to that “in the moment time.” I can see it, hear it, and feel it as plain as day. Except it’s a deeper hurt. Why? To realize that an authoritative figure, one that is paid partially by tax payer’s money, actually sacrificed another human life, my child’s, based on her perception of his life’s value or his value to the school. In turn, she contributed to the compound issues with which he was already wrestling. In my perception, she is one whom contributed in a youth being part of the high school drop out and criminal justice statistics we see today. The Assistant Principle is only one individual and this is only one way that children are still being abused, exploited, misused, and mistreated, but it is my justification and hypothesis of why you can not blame the parents, solely, for an out-of-controlled youth and you can't blame the youth, solely. Society, individually, and as a whole plays a part!

Having written all of this, which is part of my therapy, through it all, this Mother’s Cry has quickly reminded me– that the feedback received today is ONLY another confirmation from God of “Well done, my good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over what I led you through and what I led you to. The book, A Mother’s Cry-He’s Still My Child is doing exactly what it was intended to do… encourage, empower, educate, and expose! Now keep a spiritual focus and let me handle the rest.”

I am so thankful that I know what the word of God says. Vengeance is not mine, it’s the Lord’s and we must pray for people who spitefully use, mistreat, reject, and abuse. God uncovers the hidden sins of man and woman for what you do in the dark comes to the light...and woe to those who offend the children.

FACT: Statistic shows that it takes a minimum of eight years for a youth to start recouping from the effect of abuse, whether it is emotional, physical, or sexual. Some never reach a balancing point; are often emotionally hijacked with low self-esteem, resentment, anger, bitterness, and hatred; and eventually turn to alcohol, drugs, prostitution, and other criminal activities.

“We cannot and we will not tolerate those who seek to abuse or exploit our children.” Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, April 20, 2006

It’s time to start holding those adults accountable who exploit our children.

Let’s continue to be in prayer for one another, but most important, let’s be in prayer for our youth.