Consequences

Tonight is our big mentoring banquet. I’m a mentor to one 14-year-old girl, but we meet as a group of four girls and four adults. At the end of the year we get dressed up, well as dressed up as the girls want to get, and going to a three-course meal with entertainment. It’s pretty exciting and we’ve been looking forward to it all year. Teachers at the school do a fundraiser to donate $50 to buy the girls a special outfit for the event.

This year, me and my mentee will be sitting at our group’s table alone. By some weird twist of fate and miscommunication we went shopping for her special outfit on Friday. I had thought all the mentors were taking their own girls individually and had arranged to do it on Friday night. But, none of the other mentors did. Due to our leader having a sick daughter going in for surgery, my mentee being out sick, and the other mentor’s job, one mentor ended up taking 3 teenagers to shop for their outfits after school yesterday.

The 3 girls were busted shoplifting.

By the grace of God, my girl and myself weren’t anywhere in the picture. Therefore we will be sitting at our table by ourselves.

The other girls are not being allowed to attend the banquet. Two of the girls’ parents were fine with letting them go tonight – can you believe it? Talk about a devastating lack of consequences. But, we are refusing to take them. There is no way we are rewarding them for shoplifting during a mentoring shopping excursion.

It’s shocking but not that surprising. These are at-risk teenagers. They aren’t the kids who are on the honor roll or have a ton of ambition or know the meaning of consequences.

I won’t share this with them, because I don’t want to encourage them.

But, once my poor mother was humiliated beyond reason when a police cruiser pulled up to the family reunion and hauled out my friend and I, both in handcuffs. We had been busted for shoplifting a lighter and had managed to ditch the stolen cigarettes during the bust.

I can’t seem to recall what my consequences were for that, but I know it was big. Like being grounded for the rest of the summer probably.

I sometimes have an overwhelming feeling that it was only through a miracle, the grace of God, that I didn’t end up dead or in prison, during my lengthy period of rebellion and risky behavior. I just pray these girls are blessed with the same grace, because if not, oh how I fear for them.

These girls need mentors, click here to find a program near you.