The church I attend is across the street from a large middle school, grades six through eight. Several years ago we noticed some destruction of the property and lots of litter in the churchyard. Rollerbladers and skateboarders had been skating on our steps and handrails. We asked them not to, but they continued anyway.
I noticed several "Letters to the Editor" in the newspaper from kids asking, "Where are we supposed to skate?" They were being chased from all public places in town. I saw that chasing them off our church grounds would only magnify the problem, not solve it.
I began to pray. Because so much was being said about children lacking "discipline," I looked up that word in a dictionary. One meaning is "to train by instruction and practice . . . ." I saw that these children needed loving instruction, and I needed the discipline to pray about how I could help them. Other church members prayed, too.
