Our girls are in trouble
July 27, 2007 | T. Suzanne Eller
Lindsey. Brittney. Paris.
Who cares, you might ask, if these girls are in trouble?
I care, and so do many other women who watch as our young girls, and those who are older, accept less and less in relationships and in life.
I’m not pointing a finger–at least, not at this generation or even at youth culture, but I am taking a good look at my own life. As an older woman, I believe that it is my responsibility to not only notice what is happening with our girls, but to respond.
Not just with words. Not just by talking about what is wrong.
I wrote an article in this month’s Today’s Christian Woman about a young girl who was being taken advantage of–with her permission, and for whatever reason, without a clue of what could happen as a result. It was in a public place. She was surrounded by five or six young guys who absolutely didn’t have her best interests at heart. They weren’t happy that I stood by her side.
I shook in anger all the way home, thinking about the three women around me who just let it happen. I was embarrassed by the fact that some around me thought it was none of my business.
But this is my question: When did we–as adults and as a culture–stop taking care of our girls? When did we start believing that it was intrusive, or prudish, or whatever term you want to put on it, to quietly stand beside our girls as mentors, as friends, as mothers, and as women? Especially when they are making life-altering mistakes?
Last night I met with some women from my community. Some are believers. Some are not. All of them are amazing and are a part of a community mentoring program for freshman girls. I had the privilege of being a part of this last year, and loved it.
We are looking once again at the girls who live in our community. What do they need? How can we help? What messages need to be shared? What community projects can we do together? How can we show them in practical ways to begin to plan and dream and accept more?
You see, this is the most intelligent generation ever. I’m a huge fan (see http://realteenfaith.com) of teens and have worked with them for a long time. I see awesome teen girls who have it together, and who will rock the world with their beliefs or with their endeavors.
But it’s the other girls — the ones who seem to have it all, but can’t find their way, or who struggle to know what a real relationship should look like, or who just need a strong woman to stand beside her and say, “can I show you what I’ve learned?” or “babe, you’re about to fall hard, can I help?”, that are on my heart.
Lindsey. Paris. Brittney. . . Maybe I can’t reach them, but I can pray.
But Chloe. Karsin. Cara. Shermona. Sara. Cyndi. Jess. Precious. Tiffney. Amy. Cristina. Joplin. Just a few of the names of the girls I’ve had the privilege of talking to in the past few days.
Maybe you’re not around teens, but may I ask you to begin to pray with me for our girls? All of them.
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Thank you for this post- I agree wholeheartedly and I think that many Christians are actually embarrassed to admit that they even know about this stuff.
We have to deal with it and not stuff it under the rug. It affects our daughters and their culture.
Here’s what I posted and I feel the need to continue these discussions as Christians.
http://praiseandcoffee.blogspot.com/2007/07/hot-topics.html
I am loving your blog!!
August 7th, 2007 at 9:32 amyo
January 6th, 2008 at 7:04 pm