Friends,
Recently we have seen in the news the tragic story of two 12-year-old girls in Wisconsin that were charged Monday, June 2nd with attempted murder after luring a classmate into the woods and stabbing her 19 times. I know that you all join me in praying for the recovery of not only the injured young lady, but the two youngsters who were charged in this case. The girls believed fictional online stories from the website www.creepypasta.com to be real, reportedly telling investigators that they plotted to murder this classmate, then travel to “Slenderman’s castle,” which they thought was located in Wisconsin Nicolet National Forest. Now, I have visited this website and looked into its founding and discovered that it was initially set up to offer a venue for up and coming writers to practice
Why do I bring this particular case to light you may ask, well, more and more often we are hearing of circumstances where children are being led astray by on-line ramblings, television dramas, societal strangers, etc? While I, as well as many others, are not and may never be privy to the complete truths in in this particular case it is up to all of us to remain constantly vigilant in our journey with children. The global reach of media outlets is a wonderful boon that provides ready resources, but it can also harm. As I have over the past few months I urge parents to ask, know and go. Ask what your children are doing, all the time. As a child every night I can remember hearing the television say to my mom, it’s 11 o’clock, do you know where you children are; I modify that to add not only know where, but what they are doing all the time. And, finally, visit the sights and sounds of their life so you can feel comfortable with what they are taking in and don’t be hesitate to go there repeatedly.
There is nothing as pure as the innocence of a child. Laughter, smiles and love, we are all better because of their presence in our life, let’s do everything we can to keep in around forever.
Peace,
Scott
