A Lesson in Trust Part 2

Today, I have a guest writer.  As a consequence of K13's behavior that I shared previously, she had to write a paper outlining what she'd done, why it was wrong and how her actions lined up with  God's expectations.  I've been given permission to share her paper here.

It is important to think over your decisions before you make them. Ask yourself is this safe? Why am I doing it? Would my parents approve? If you are about to do something that endangers your life or someone else’s life (by even a little bit) do not do it. Are you doing it because you want to or are you doing it so you do not look scared or stupid? Just because other kids are doing it does not mean you have to. Trust is important. You need to have a trustworthy relationship with your parents. To keep a trustworthy relationship, you must make decisions that you know they would approve of.


On June 22, 2010, I spent the night at my friend’s house. At around 11:30pm we snuck out of her house and walked to her boyfriend’s house. If you are about to do something that is past curfew without your parents’ or another adult and your parents’ permission, do not do it. In Indiana it is against the law for children under the age of 18 to go out without an adult past 11:00pm on weekdays and 1:00am on weekends. The punishment for this the first time is a warning and ride home. The second, third, fourth and so on it is a $500 fine and 90 day jail term.

Once we were at her boyfriend’s house, he and a couple of his friends snuck us into the house. It is also against the law to trespass on private property. There is no punishment for trespassing once on property that is not marked private property. But, if the same person continues to trespass on the property, there is a fine and possible jail time. Just because you won’t get in trouble the first time does not mean you can do it. Do not take the risk. It is against the law, so, do not do it.

One of the boys that was at the house had a an illegal drug with them. Tens of thousands of people die annually from the usage of illegal drugs. Using drugs especially as a teenager is bad not only for you but the people around you to. Drugs make you do thing that you shouldn’t do. In Dodge City, Kansas five teenagers high on marijuana. Killed a stranger for no obvious reason. In West Palm Beach, Florida three teenagers mixed beer, rum, cocaine, and marijuana. Then they kidnapped a tourist from Brooklyn and set them on fire. Drugs also cause problems in our country such as violent street gangs, family violence, the spreading of ADIS, and babies born with cocaine dependency.

There are a lot of teenagers that do drugs. The average age for kids to first try drugs is 13. Two-thirds of all American teenagers try drugs before they finish high school. one in sixteen high school seniors smoke marijuana daily.

Just because some teenagers don’t go to church that is not why they are doing drugs. In fact, the percentage of teenagers that go to church and do drugs is not very much lower than the percentage of teenagers that don’t go to church and do drugs. 61% of teenagers that do marijuana and/or cocaine don’t go to church but 49% of them do.

In the Bible, it has some things to say about drugs. In Exodus 20:12 it says "honor your mother and father". Do your parents want you to do drugs? If yes, then you might want to get someone else’s opinion. In Galatians 5:19-21 it says, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft [which includes the use of drugs]; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."

The boys had been popping pills before we got there. Drugs are sometimes used for medical reasons but, unless your parents or a doctor give them to you, don’t use them. They can be very harmful when used in the wrong way. Don’t over dose on the drugs that you have permission to use. That can be especially harmful. Just because most people say that using medicine in a way that it is not meant to be used in is safer than using drugs or drinking does not mean they are right. In fact they aren’t. One in five teenagers abuse medicine and the numbers are growing. One of the reasons that the numbers are growing is because medicine is easier to get. All that teenagers have to do is take them from the medicinal cabinet. Using medicine can make you high. The long-term effects are bad withdrawal symptoms, normal side effects (for the medicine that is being used) and addiction.

Two of the boys were smoking. Another growing problem in American teenagers is smoking. 80% of smokers begin before the age of 18. Of those about 3,900 smoke every day and of those 1,500 become regular smokers. 90% of smokers begin before age 21. In 2005 23% of high school students had smoked with in the last month. A way to tell if someone is smoking is they will have secondary behavioral issues such as violence, they are more likely to use drugs or drink alcohol and have a high-risk of sexual behavior. There are many reasons that teenagers start smoking. It may be because of low self-image or self-esteem, the availability of cigarettes if there parents or siblings smoke or the lack of parental involvement in their lives. Smoking is bad for you and the long term effects are not worth looking "cool" in front of your friends. Here are some of the long term effects: reduced stamina, chronic cough, bad breath, yellow teeth, stinky clothes, and it is an expensive habit, A pack a day could add up to $1000 a year. A lot of kids smoke but that does not mean that you have to.

It is not safe to go out without an adult, there are some very confused people that could hurt you if you do. There are about 2,000,000 child molesters in the United States of America and around 55 in southern Indiana. Almost 800,000 children go missing each year most are from family abductions but around 58,000 are strangers that abduct and demand ransom for the child’s release. Most of the children that are abducted are recovered but the small percent of children that are abducted and murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction. The short-term and long-term effects an abduction has on a family are emotional impact, stress, guilt and mourning. If I would have been abducted my family would have been very upset they would have had to call the police, report a missing child, and then they would have to just wait until the authorities found me, if they did find me. During the time that I’d be gone the whole family would be very worried and upset. It would break their hearts that someone had taken me from them. I am now aware that when I was picked up by the state police it was a blessing. If I had been abducted or raped the impact that it would have had on me and my family would have been terrible. It would have crushed me and my loved ones.

On our way home we were pulled over by the state police. We were given a warning and a ride home. What we did was very dangerous and I thank God that it was the state police that picked us up and not someone that could have hurt us.

This verse has some information that applies to what I have done. 1 Peter 1:14-16 says that do not do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord "Be Holy, Because the Lord is Holy." This means that we should follow in the Lord’s steps and, be as much like him as we possibly can because if we do what is right in his eyes we do what is honoring our parents.

Other verses that apply are Ephesians 5:1-17. The verse in this that is think applies the most is 11-12 it says do not walk in the ways of evil for even speaking of what they do in private is shameful. By making choices that I knew were wrong I was walking in the way of evil. Hebrews 12:5-11 reminds me that I am disciplined for my own good and it leads to peace and righteousness.

I would like to close my report by apologizing again for taking your trust for granted and doing things that I know you would not approve of. I love you very much and hope I may earn your forgiveness and your trust back.

I hope you approve of my report and know that I will never do anything like that every again.



The People Affected by My Decisions

1.My Family

2.Briteny’s Family

3.Ricky's Family

4.Oma and Opa

5.Austin

6.TJ

7.Ricky

8.The Police Officer

9.Briteny

10.Me

11.Lucy Lane

12.Makalya

Information I Used for my Report

WWW.FAMILYWATCHDOG.US

WWW.MISSINGKIDS.COM

WWW.PREVENT-ABUSE-NOW.COM

WWW.ACEP.ORG

PUBLIC.FINDLAW.COM

ANTISEX.INFO/EN/MOLESTER.HTM

hamptonroads.com

www.leaderu.com

www.familyfirstaid.org

Heyman, Richard (2001). How to say it to Teens. Prentice Hall Press