Creating a No Judgment Zone:  

Recently, I took some time out of my busy schedule to spend the weekend with my daughter.   And as we were talking she began to tell me about one of her 13 yr. old classmates. First she stated the little girl thought she was pregnant and has been really getting verbally abused at home by her mother. She told my daughter and another young man that she was going to kill herself by the end of the week. Becoming alerted, Jaihde began to tell this young lady that death really isn’t the answer to the problem and if you kill yourself you will kill the baby as well so you take two lives instead of one. As my heart cried out, Jaihde went on to say that she told the girl that you really don’t want to kill yourself because you told someone. What you are really doing is crying out for help and we are here to listen. So as Jaihde consoled the girl that finally broke down crying, the young man stated that he was going to the bathroom but instead went to the office to get her some help. The young lady was upset initially but the young man told her, what if you would have killed yourself after telling us this news. Your death would have been on my hands for the rest of life. I didn’t judge you because I want you to live.

          As a Christian mother hearing this story my heart was overwhelmed because there has been an atmosphere set to where my child know right from wrong, but she also knows how to apply that Godly principle to others. I know that raising a child, especially teenagers can be extremely hard but we have to take time out time to spend with our children, listen to our children and most importantly show them that you love them (not buying their love). Creating a no a judgment zone for our youth can and will potentially save one of their lives because the pressures of this world is hard on our children.  From daily occurrence of bullying to pressures to join a gang and from confusion about sexual orientation to experimenting with drugs, our youth are often times overwhelmed to a degree of not having a place to turn or a voice to champion for them.  As a single mother I’m faced with an even greater challenge of not having a male figure in the house, but I don’t try to compensate to be that role model- I simply show her how a young lady should be treated and respected. My goal with my child is always to create an escape to where she can always confide in me with no judgment or condemnation. Parents we have to stop tearing our youth down when they make a mistake but instead, instruct them on where they went wrong and allow them to try again. After all, God does that on a daily basis for us- it’s called forgiveness. So as I close, please remember- creating a no judgment zone starts in the heart then it flows to your attitude.

Elizabeth Siplin