SJS YDC and Western Youth Inst.

Kevin's testimony touches the lives of the volunteers as well as the inmates: Over the past few weeks I've been dealing with some personal issues that many people find hard to believe and others feel like some of their questions have been answered! At present, I am being tested for ADD. I've been called lazy, forgetful, uncaring, rude, "are you stupid?" and my favorite... "what's wrong with you?". I'm still waiting on my test results, so there is no diagnosis yet. The doctor says it may be stress or even a combination of things. All I know is that whatever it is, it's got my attention. (No pun intended!) After miserably failing my first test I was devastated. Let's just leave it at, it was a very bad day. As I was finishing up my paperwork that night at work I was doing two math problems in my head at the same time. (I've always been good with numbers and in the advanced math classes.) This only made me mad because I couldn't see how I could be so smart in one area and struggle so badly with simple tasks! I know I'm not stupid! Then God spoke. (Insert dramatic pause here.) He reminded me of the young men I work with every week in the prison system and how many of them have been labeled with ADD or something worse and how they must feel the same way I do about it. He then reminded me about the adoption process I am going through with the NC foster child program and how almost every child I look at has an alphabet soup of letters after their name of all the disorders and issues they face. God showed me that I can relate to these kids on a different level than most people because I've been there and I know what it is like. A lot like Jesus when he became one of us! What a difference it makes when we know someone understands us because they have been there, too! This is what I have been sharing lately with the guys at Western Youth and Stonewall Jackson and the response has been humbling. When I looked out across the faces and saw the relief and the healing touch of God as I shared my weaknesses I saw even clearer how God turns our weaknesses into an opportunity to display His strength! Does this mean I'm handicapped because I have issues? No, it simply means that I'm human. I've also discovered that whatever this thing is that I have, it has given me the ability to do things most others cannot! I can read scriptures out loud and prepare examples in my head or evaluate where I should be going next without missing a word! I can even look at a page full of numbers and know what they mean almost instantly. Funny how that works out for me, I own my on business and I preach! So, I don't look at whatever I have as a handicap, but an opportunity and in some ways a gift. Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." NIV