Boosting Self-Worth

Did you know that as early as age 3 or 4, kids start to ask basic self-worth questions? Who am I? Who needs me? Who cares about me? Every child starts to gather evidence to answer these questions and more. Each mistake, each time he or she is not invited to a party or picked for a team, called a name, it all gets stored in his or her memory bank. When the child starts going into adolescence, all of that comes back with an explosive force to attack his or her sense of self-worth.

There is a story about a farmer who found an eagle down by the lake on his property. One of its legs had been caught in a steel trap, but even though it was heavy and it was in pain, the bird flew many miles, but now was totally exhausted. A damaged self concept is like that. You can fly with it for awhile, but it weighs you down. Unless you, or someone else, can find a way to deal with it...remove the trap....it will ground you and lead to your destruction. The high incidence of teen suicide may relate to this lack of confidence.

Think of these kids in Ukraine who are lost souls. Who have no parents to love them. Their only love and support are coming from the busy workers in the orphanages and hopefully, they are lucky enough to meet Julia and Sergey who will give them that unconditional love that they are so desperate to have. When children are weighed down by those steel jaws created by a crisis of confidence, they need to have a response of love, understanding and affirmation. If they don't get that, terrible things can happen...rebellion, running away, suicide.

Please continue to support Julia and Sergey through Youth of Ukraine both financially and prayerfully so that they can give these lost kids the love and understanding and affirmation that they so DESPERATELY need. By helping to boost others' self-concept, we are mirroring the heart of God, "who comforts the downcast" (2 Corinthians 7:6).