Mentor 4 BIG RESULTS

Last night at B.I.G. (for all that don't know B.I.G. is a young men's mentorship program) we had a powerful mentoring session in which we discussed various topics that ranged from respecting your parents to making positive life choices. The conversation got so good that we went into overtime. One of many profound moments occurred when we began to discuss broken homes. Wow! One young man talked about growing up without a father.... He was asked how he felt about growing up without a father and he explained that he didn't know what to feel. While he was talking his eyes were pointed down and his shoulders pressed down to the ground as though he had something to do with his father leaving. We encouraged him to live a life of victory and not to allow his father's poor decision to leave to destroy his self-esteem.

This is the state of mind that many of our youth live in today. A state of lost identity, stress, guilt and blame because of poor decisions that parents are making. Irresponsible parenting is not limited to race either, this young man was not African-American or Latino he was Anglo-Saxon. We told him to learn the lesson from his situation and let it motivate him to be a responsible father regardless of his relationship with the mother of his child(ren) when that time comes. I discussed my situation with growing up without my biological mother and how that made me feel. And for a long-time the young man and I shared the same feelings. We went on to talk about being an overcomer! And the first step to overcoming and healing from his father's absents is through forgiveness. Forgiving the person that wronged you is one of the hardest things to do but forgiving them frees you and unlock your full potential. Without forgiveness, you are bound and that spirit of non-forgiveness limits your potential to achieve and blocks your blessings.

James 2:20 asserts "faith without works is dead". I believe most parents want to raise healthy, productive and successful child(ren). Therefore, it is important that parents set an example that there child(ren) can follow. Whether you believe it or not, your child(ren) is /are direct products of those things that you share with them and those things you neglect to shield from them. Accountability is vital in raising good child(ren). Our child(ren) are mirror images of who we are and what we instill in them good and bad. That means keeping it real with them. Talking to them about real issues and not putting topics off limits or making them taboo. If we don't keep it real with our child(ren) the world will.