Summer Edition Volume 1, Issue 1: “Who Am I Really?”

“Who Am I Really?”

The other day I ran across an article written by Ben Felder in the Oklahoma Gazette that actually provoked me to take pen in hand and write. The title of the article was “School-to-prison pipeline? The very first statement captured my attention and actually caused me to take a seat and read the rest of the article.

Felder reported that “Seventy-five percent of African-American male high school students in the Oklahoma City Public schools district were suspended at least once in 2012.” He went on further to state that the percentage is the highest rate in  the nation. By the time I read the next statement I was engrossed in deep thought wondering to myself if I had misread the opening statement.

My mind ran swiftly to a time in the not too far past that our organization had the opportunity to work with the Juvenile Justice Bureau and provide a life skills / mentoring program to approximately 260 youth in the system. At the same time we worked with approximately 120 individuals in a prison re-entry program focusing on life and survival skills. The stark contrast yet common thread between these two groups was simply this – a lack of true fathers.

So then, what is the role of the father and why is he so important in this process called life. From this writer’s research over 40+ years on this very subject, I have concluded that two of the most challenging questions in life are “Who Am I – Really?” and the second question is “How do I embrace who I was Made to be?” As words were released to Jeremiah concerning his life, so it is for mankind in general in this hour …

“Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified (set you apart) you…” Jeremiah 1:5

~ Before, before, before ~

We are here on PURPOSE! We are not an accident nor the result of our parent’s response to an intimate moment. So in my humble opinion, we must stop the bleed and take responsibility for the lives of our children and our future by delving into the life issues that we are confronted with on a daily basis, i.e, fear, love, hate, forgiveness, trust, abandonment, rejection, etc..

Be sure to read the next edition of Shades for the 2nd part to this series on   “Who

Am I – Really?”