Giving a gift that lasts a lifetime

I recently had a conversation with a member of our youth program and as we were catching up on her grades, her homecoming experience and all of the other exciting things facing the typical teenager today, the conversation took a turn into a different direction.  As I sat there admiring what a beautiful, smart, intelligent, young lady she was growing up to be, my heart was saddened when she began to share how things looked great on the outside but how she was crying out and just trying to keep it together on the inside.

To my surprise, she began to share that she was depressed and extremely stressed out with school, friendships and family relations at home; explaining...

that she was just trying to keep her head above water.  As I listened to her frustrations and she began identifying her needs, she expressed that what she wanted and needed more than anything in the world was to have quality time with her parents.

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