Teenagers.
Self-centered. Disregard for what is right and total disrespect for authority.
Their feet gather together and riot. Feet walking the streets looking for violence. Feet wandering into dark places where drugs and alcohol are present.
The media splashes images across magazines and the internet. Images which scream.
That the feet belonging to our future are on the wrong path.
Or are they?
Thousands of miles across the world there are other problems.
With feet.
Children in Uganda, Africa are in trouble. Most do not own shoes. Jiggers burrow into their feet and lay eggs which multiply and damage the tissue, causing great pain and horrible infections.
Impoverished communities filled with children who have lost hope. Lost the simple ability to run and play without pain.
In their feet.
I feel the need to quiet the storm of negativity. To stand on my own two feet and defend the next generation. To declare that the love and hope of a few teenagers can change a community and a nation.
One sole at a time.
My feet are blessed to be serving in a leadership position with youth.
I stood and watched as hundreds of teenagers gathered together last week to serve. Busy teenagers sacrificing a Saturday for a better cause.
Their feet arrived with piles of used denim. Those same feet worked for hours as denim was cut and assembled into shoe kits for Uganda children.
Teenagers serving with their hearts and their hands. Caring for the feet of others they will never meet.
Building shoes. Building hope.
Photo: Mandy Jones
Teenagers.
What does their future look like?
There certainly will be trouble. Feet will wander from the straight and narrow to the rocky ridge. Paths leading to sorrow and destruction.
Some feet will lose their way. As future leaders of communities and nations, they'll steer off course.
But I also see a different view.
Strength. Courage. Charity.
One good decision at a time. One foot in front of the other. Feet of the future walking toward light.
Teenagers following in His footsteps to make a difference.
I watch where their feet take them. What do I see?
I see hope.
