Standing up for ourselves

It is a horrible thing in our society today that we, as adults, can be afraid to stand up to children and teenagers--afraid of what they'll do to us. Two things happened this week that I want to share--to encourage you, my friends to stand strong--these kids need us!

First story:
I was out in the backyard with our puppy while she was going poop. Two teenage boys hopped the fence behind me and were about to hop the one next to me when I noticed them. I was on the phone and hung up. I asked them what they were doing, told them they weren't supposed to be--that it's private property and I knew that wasn't their house. I told them they needed to go the other way. I also said that we didn't want any one hopping our fence because it's totally rusty and we didn't want anyone to get tetanus. My adrenaline was pumping! I am so thankful that God helped me remain calm and talk to these two teenagers in a composed, kind way. I am also thankful they went back over the fence and went the other way.

Second story:
Yesterday a little girl (first or second grader) walked up into my friend's yard and threw a big rock at her dogs behind her fence. My friend was so shaken up. My husband took care of our kids while I drove to my friend's house in another part of our neighborhood. I asked her if she knew this little girl and she did. She told me where she lived and her name. When my friend finished work, she went over to the little girl's house and spoke with her. The little girl tried to lie to her, but my friend told her she saw her (and the little girl's eyes got wide). She told her she had been angry, but wasn't anymore and she didn't ever want to see her do that again. I was very proud of her. My friend told her that she watches from her window. That was a blessing because I'm sure this little girl will tell the others that they are being watched.

But, this situation reminded me of several lessons. Be careful of how old the children are that your younger children are around. Older children often find it fun to egg younger children on into doing things they know they shouldn't do. I've saw this with my daughter back in December at a church function.

Third Story: My neighbor saw something suspicious in our neighborhood but wasn't sure about calling the police. I called and discovered that they would do a drive-by without stopping at my house--so that no one would know I called.

All of these things happened because I was home. Please don't think my neighborhood is a bad one. It's not. But, kids today are often not being taught what's appropriate and what's not--how to treat other people's property. I'm thankful that my friend and I are home during the day so that we could witness each of these things. I'm sure many things happen in a lot of neighborhoods, but people aren't home to see them.

Anyways, my lesson for me and my husband in this is--we need to care and make a difference in the lives of these kids--they need to know that trespassing is not okay and we need to make a difference in our neighborhood. And just as importantly they need to know that adults will not bow down to them--they need to have boundaries. I believe strongly that children with boundaries are much happier and safer than children who don't have them.