Helping Hurting Kids 3

This week we’re looking at some of Dr. Marv Penner’s strategies and skills for helping hurting kids. Marv has developed a set of skills based on the acronym L.O.V.E. The letter O refers to what we offer students who choose to risk sharing their hearts with us. They’ve come to us because they believe we have something they need. It’s important for us to offer hope in what they often consider to be hopeless circumstances. Offers of encouragement, support, wisdom, and advice can all express this hope. Maybe the most important thing we can offer kids is the willingness to go deeper with them. Most adults want to keep things safe and shallow. What are your offering to hurting kids? The Psalmist reminds us in Psalm Forty-two that we are to put our hope in God. If we have placed our hope and trust in the one who has made us and not in the things he has made, hurting kids will see that reality. Hope is the greatest gift we can give to kids in pain.