I was in church the other Sunday and a young man walked up to me with the brightest smile. The one thing about this guy was no matter who he was with or how he was feeling; you could always count on him to warm your heart with his bright smile. After he was greeted by some folks, I could only assume hadn\u2019t seen him in a while, he made his way to where I was standing. He greeted me and called me Auntie like always and we exchanged hugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once that was all out of the way I asked him what he had been up to lately. He told me he was soon to move to Atlanta with his \u201cbig brother\u201d. Out of precaution I immediately warned him about ATL\u2019s lifestyle and how that fast living could end tragically if he were not careful. The young man I had seen grow from a teenager to now soon to be 23 in November, was no longer a little boy. What came next truly shocked me and instantly I had a flashback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He mentioned he stays to himself and he doesn\u2019t start stuff, he finishes it! <\/em><\/strong>I immediately corrected him and told him God was the finisher and to let God fight his battles. Though I\u2019ve never been a black young man growing up in America, I am raising 3 of my own and by the blessing of my marriage have been able to shadow raise 2 additional black young men. And so like any mother I stopped and gave him a piece of advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether what I said actually soaked in or not; I may never know. It seemed as though time had stood still and then before my eyes the flashback gave me peace in my spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You see I had heard all about this young man and his potential and was blessed to be able to meet him while my boys had attended a summer camp. This particular day Micah was being so shy and bashful and it was hard trying to get him out of his shell. Soon therefore this young man appeared and one thing led to another but I found out he loved to dance. He had been hired that summer and would be working with the boys and my hopes were he could teach Micah a thing or two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I found out this young man had many things in common and if paired up with Micah, maybe he could help Micah enjoy his summer experience and be a positive role model for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A couple of years went by and this young man started hanging out with the wrong crowd. It\u2019s like they sensed his sweet and kind spirit and they used that to his advantage. So going back to present day when he had mentioned respect; I could relate to that timid little boy from before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If only he knew the respect he sought was not the type of respect that would get you anywhere in life. So we talked and I told him if he needed to talk then call me or if he wanted to get some advice from someone who has lived that life and had to leave that childish mentality in the past, he could reach out to my husband. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s been over a week and I haven\u2019t heard from him but I\u2019ve been praying for him. I\u2019ve asked some members of the church to pray for him. And now I\u2019m asking all those who reading tonight\u2019s message to do the same. Please pray for the young man for the sake of his identity I\u2019ll refer to him as \u201cThe Finisher.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n My prayer is he will find his place in life and has the talents he possesses and do something positive with himself. He has such a gift and influence that if used in the right way could take some of these young black boys off of the street. He may not know it but he is a leader. And if given the right atmosphere he can lead this future generation into greatness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n God hasn\u2019t given up on him, his mom hasn\u2019t, his church family hasn\u2019t, and I won\u2019t give up on him either. What the enemy meant for evil, God is going to work it out for His good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So tonight I ask you to join me in prayer for \u201cThe Finisher\u201d that God will continue to dwell in his mind and in his heart and he will only seek Godly wisdom and respect and not worry about the street cred. My prayer is that he will use his God given talent to be a productive person who uses his influence to change the world. My prayer is he will he that role model that blesses another young boy like when he blessed Micah. I pray he remembers he is loved and valued. I pray he will realize people care and are praying for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After you have prayed leave the word done in the comment section below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanking you in advance for your prayers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"