My heart breaks for the lives of young men and women that are treated unfairly and given up on. I believe everyone deserves a chance to be able to overcome the struggles and battles they face. Everyone has a story and for a brief moment, I want you to hear a quick story from my life.
Many people see the work I do now and celebrate what has transpired over the course of my life but check this out… If my coaches in high school/college would have done a background check on my teenage years they would have discovered, I had 3 MIP’s, sold weed, smoked weed, skipped school, had poor grades at some point (1.2 GPA) and got drunk they would not have wanted me to a part of their program.
It was very easy to find faults in my character, to display my weaknesses and hold me to the standard of my choices. However, the few people that were close to me were able to see I was just a hurting, lost and broken teen being influenced by my surroundings and making decisions based off of my broken emotions. They saw that I was a teen that needed guidance, love, support, encouragement and someone to believe in me.
If I was never loved through the wrongs I committed and the poor choices I made, then I would have never had the opportunity to earn a high school degree, two college degrees, soon to be master’s degree, earn a Division 1 basketball scholarship, become an NAIA All – American basketball player, married and be able to become a student pastor.
I share this because when a person hits a low in life, people are quick to point, judge, condemn and beat down. Before you go and label someone as a thug, gangster, low-life and as someone that may not ever change, first learn their story and understand why they are making poor decisions.
Without people believing in me and of course God, I would either be dead or in prison. Based on the choices I was making as a teen, I was supposed to be apart and given up to the system.
God can use you to make a difference in someone’s life. There are people out there, young men and women that need to be heard; they need someone to listen, love them, support them, challenge them, and help them process how to make it in this world.
My questions for you:
Will you be the person you needed when you were at your weakest and prayed for someone to help you?
Who can you build up?
Who is the person in your life that you can walk alongside, encourage and help grow?
Who is the teen that needs your love and support?
Who can you mentor and not give up on?
P.S. Think about these words, pray on them and remember: Be the change the world needs to see and as you do this; one day you will look up and realize, you influenced a lost teen to turn their life around to be a difference maker in this world.
In love,
J. Scott Samarco
Josh Samarco 