BRAVING THE WINDS OF CHANGE!--Helping Our Teens to Face the Future!      Maria #262       DO 2981  3/95

         1. (Mama:) To further understand what some of our young people are going through, especially at this time of change brought about by the Charter, following is what the Lord said in prophecy when I asked some of our WS folks if they could pray for one of our senior teens, asking the Lord to reveal the root of his problem as well as any counsel the Lord might have for him. This young man is a good boy--quiet, obedient, not causing problems--and has been a blessing in the Service Home he has been living and working in for a number of years. But he has felt unchallenged and has recently expressed a desire to leave the Family.
         2. As you will see, the Lord has great love, and wants us to have great love, understanding, and unconditional love for our young people, even though they may be making decisions that we do not agree with. Though we may interpret their actions as brash or rebellious, these prophecies show that there are often feelings, desires, needs and fears beyond what they indicate outwardly to us. Unconditional love and understanding is what the Lord is requiring of us, as the caretakers of His children--taking time to get desperate with the Lord for them and taking time to hear from them, to understand, and to help them find a way, or make a way, when they can see no way.
         3. It is heartbreaking to see in these prophecies what this teen and probably many of our other teens are going through. The Lord said, "This one is in despair and deep discouragement, feeling that there is no place for him and that no one would want him." Lord help us to have unconditional love and understanding that our young people can depend on, that they will know is there, that they can feel is there.
         4. In this important time of change in the Family, our young people need to know that we are there with them and for them, and that we will be their partners in prayer and love and understanding, as we support them in their time of decision-making. The Love Charter is opening more doors for each one, and as these prophecies bring out, not everyone will respond in the same way to the increased freedoms and responsibilities. One prophecy says, "Show this one that there are many ways to serve Me. It doesn't have to be black or white. Show him the many doors that he may walk through in his service for Me. Make a place for him in My Family, in one of the concentric circles."
         5. God bless you, dear Family, dear parents, brothers, sisters, teachers, shepherds and all, with unconditional love, the Lord's love for each other, and especially for our young people during this time of change. As the Lord says below, "Hold on to [him] with your prayers and with your love." And again He says, "Show him unconditional love, support and encouragement, and keep the connection strong, and the bond of love strong. Invest in him time and prayer and communication. And this is the love that I desire that you have for him, that no matter what he does or says, or any decision that he will make, it should not lessen your love for him, or lessen your opinion of him, or your desire to pray for him or strengthen him or communicate with him. For he must know that no matter what, he has a place, and there are arms reaching out to him which will receive him, and he will not be rejected or looked down upon no matter what." May we have this same love for all our young people--our children and His children!

Prophecies:
         6. "Pray for this one, for this is a time of decision. Lift this one with thy fingers of faith that I might work My work in his heart.
         7. "There are such as be termed late bloomers. Therefore fret not, worry not. Did not the Apostle Paul have one who departed, yet returned to write a Gospel? Were there not those who left for a season only to return weeping, broken and more determined than ever to do My will?--More convinced than ever before that I would be with them until the end, having tried other things, experimented, fallen and been lifted up again by the power of My love.
         8. "Therefore, be loving unto this one unto the end. Fret not, worry not, but let your hearts come unto Me. For this young one needs to believe in the love which I do give unto him without measure, without condition. Unconditional love do I give unto him. Merciful love, which forgiveth and forgiveth and forgiveth again. Every day, as the sun doth rise upon the land and gives light and warmth, even so doth My mercy arise upon this one who doubteth My love and the love of those about him. Therefore seek to love this one unconditionally, for he doth doubt My love; he doth doubt your love.
         9. "Enlarge the place of your tents and make room for this one, for this is a time of decision. All that I ask is that you give, and give unconditionally, openly, lovingly, tenderly. Let him discover Me, let him find Me, and feel after Me, even though it would appear that he gropeth in darkness.
         10. "Even as My David of old said, 'If I should say that darkness shall encumber and compass me about, even so the darkness shall be light about me.' For the darkness and the light are the same unto the Lord your God. For I see the heart in the night and in the day, and both in distress and great joy do I behold you. And I behold this one every minute; yea, every second I am with him to deliver him from his troubles."
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         11. "Love is the answer, love is the solution. Therefore bind him about with the rope of My love, and the bands of your love. And continually hold on to the other end of that rope, that rope of love, so that he departeth not from your love and from My love. For though he be absent in body, yet will he still be tied unto you with this cord of love. And keep the cord short, that he be not far and distant, but that he may receive and feel your love. But you (his parent), and those that love him, can be close at hand when he doth stumble or fall, so that he may have those who can lift him up.
         12. "Fear not for this one, for he is in My hand. I will keep My arms about him, and I will keep him bound with the cord of My love, this cord which no man can break, which none can sever."
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         13. "When a chick is being born, the shell of the egg cannot be broken for him; he must do it himself. He must want to break free--not free from My Family, but to break free from this shell, that he can be born anew and that he can be freed and fly. This one hath been cared for, this one hath been in a cocoon and hath been protected, yea, overprotected, and I have put it in his heart to struggle and to want to launch out into something new. But there be many evil outside forces fighting against him.
         14. "He hath been protected; decisions have been made for him. But I have put it in his heart to now make decisions for himself. Even if they be the wrong ones, he shall learn, and each fall shall be a fall upward. Even if it looks like defeat and darkness, I shall bring great victory out of these things.
         15. "Just look to Me, look to My Word. Trust Me about this one, for he is Mine. And I shall lead him through many experiences. I shall put in his heart what he shall do. But he must make these decisions and abide by them, for this is what I would teach him, and what I would teach you about him.
         16. "For he is asleep; he is not wakened. And these experiences that I shall lead him through shall wake him and break him and make him a new man. Despair not; look to Me and I shall lift the burdens from off your hearts. I shall bring great victory out of this seeming defeat. For I love you and I love him."
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         17. "'Cast me not off!' Can you hear the cry in this young one's heart? He crieth, 'Cast me not off! Hold on to me! For I am frightened, and I fear what the future may hold! This is a very frightening life! And oh, I would that I was a little child again, sheltered under the wings of my parents. I am frightened about what lies ahead! I do not know where to turn! Do not let go of me. Hold on to me, no matter where I am.
         18. "'I need you, my parents. I need your love, I need you to hold on to me. For I do not see the future. I see waves and billows and fog, and I am frightened. I realize that I am no longer a child, and this doth frighten me. Hold on to me. Cast me not off, I need you! Do not think that my turning away means that I do not want you to hold on to me. But I am frightened and I am struggling and I am scared and I am looking for how to go forward.
         19. "'You fear that I am going backwards, but I am looking for a way forward. I am looking for a way up! I am not looking for a way to go down into selfishness; I am looking for a way up to live. So please hold on to me as I struggle.
         20. "'I cannot see things as you see them. It is not that I do not wish to see them as you see them; I wish to, I have tried. But I just see fog! I do not see the golden streets that you see. So please, hold on to me as I struggle through this phase.
         21. "'I want you to be proud of me. I want your love. I cry for your love. But I know that I am now an older teen. I now must go forward. I know that I cannot turn around and cling to you for my protection, and this scares me. So please hold on to me as I move forward. Please do not let go of me, no matter what my decision.
         22. "'I do not want to disappoint you, but I cannot walk where I cannot see. And I must break loose so that I can have sight. I do not want to disappoint you. I very much want to fulfill the desires of your heart, but I have to be free, I have to be able to see.
         23. "'It is not that I doubt the Word. But I must live it myself. It is not that I doubt what you have for me, but that I fear. I don't understand how to apply it to this life of adulthood that I am now heading into. It frightens me.
         24. "'I see around me those who are moving forward, and I watch them with envy. How do they move forward? How do they carry on into adulthood? My older brother has moved forward! He is now a father and a husband! He has made the step! How did he do it? But, oh, he was so gifted, and I am so little and I am so weak. He was given the tools to move forward with, and I feel so incapable.
         25. "'I fear, I fear greatly. I need you to not fear. I need you to have faith. I need you to support and pray for me. Please pray for me, that I may come through gloriously. I do not want a life of failure. I do not want a life of rebelliousness. I am not seeking my own way. I am just seeking life. So please, put your arms around me and under me and help me as I move forward. And do not give up on me as I seem to be going sideways or backwards.
         26. "'This is a struggle, and I do not expect you to understand. I feel lonely, I feel cast off, and that others cannot understand the fears of my heart. For many have strength to make this step. But I fear. I feel misunderstood and resentful. But I do care, and I do want life, and I do want to move forward. So please understand this cry of my heart, and do not cast me off.
         27. "'I feel so weak facing this mountain of life ahead of me, facing the responsibilities of adulthood. I feel so very weak and unprepared.
         28. "'Hold on to me with your prayers and with your love, and remember that I do not want to disappoint you. I want you to be proud of me. Please believe this. This is a strong desire of my heart.'"
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         29. "Can you hear the winds of change? The winds of change are blowing so strongly! So much change. And to some, these winds of change blow refreshment and excitement and challenge and thrill. To some, these winds of change are the answer to their prayer and the desire of their heart. These winds of change open doors that they have sought for many years.
         30. "But for this one, these winds of change do blow him about and batter him. These winds of change have destabilized him. They are more than he can bear and he is afraid. For he hath been in a stable, protected, quiet, unchanging situation for so long, that now the thought of change and independence is frightening.
         31. "He feels insecure and fearful in himself, wondering, 'Who will have me? Who will want me? Where will I go? What if I get voted out of the Home? What if nobody wants me, because I'm so weak and I have so few talents, and I'm so shy? How can I find a Home where the people will want me? For my parents are so busy serving the Lord, and I have not a wife, I have not even a girlfriend. So who will I team up with, and who will I work with, and who will want me and where will I go?'
         32. "This one is in despair and deep discouragement, feeling that there is no place for him and that no one would want him. Before, at least his place was secure; at least he knew that no one would throw him out or vote him out. He knew that as long as he was willing to stick and fight and try, there would be a place for him. But now he worries and is fearful that there will be no place for him.
         33. "His heart is as a closed book and cold, and he has not ventured to open himself to anyone for many years. He has not felt the closeness of shepherding and unconditional love. He has not felt accepted and needed and wanted for many years! He was willing to endure this as long as he felt the security of the Family. But now that that security has been taken from him, he is in a whirlpool of insecurity and fear which is pulling him down. He prefers to step out himself rather than face rejection and find no place in the Family and no one who wants him and no Home which is willing to receive him and have him and bear with him through all of his NWOs, his weaknesses and his shyness.
         34. "But I say, show this one that there are many ways to serve Me. It doesn't have to be black or white. Show him the many doors that he may walk through in his service for Me. Make a place for him in My Family, in one of the concentric circles. Show him the different doors that he may walk through so that he can see that it doesn't have to be black or white, all or nothing at all. If he needs a slower pace, or if he needs a time of rest, or if he needs some time to sort things out and to experience and to find his place, show him the doors that he may walk through.
         35. "For he is fearful of witnessing, he is fearful of having to raise funds, he is fearful of having to learn new languages and meet new people. He feels very insecure in himself and lacking in talent, lacking in education. And he feels all of his lacks and weaknesses make him very undesirable and that nobody would want him, that he wouldn't be an asset in any Home. He cannot bear the thought of facing this rejection and this embarrassment.
         36. "For he feels that much is expected of him, and the doorknob is very high! He feels that he cannot fulfill these expectations. Therefore, he cannot bear the thought of such embarrassment and such failure. And he feels that people will scorn him and be disappointed and reject him. So he prefers just to turn around and walk away and save face and disappear, hoping maybe everyone will just forget.
         37. "Make it as easy as possible for this one to save face and to find a place to be accepted and to feel used and needed. Give him a choice, so that he may see that there are many different ways to serve Me and love Me and stay close to Me and to stay within the fold of David and to be fed from the table of David, that he may still continue to drink of the wine that I will pour forth. For how can he be strengthened if he cuts himself off from the new wine? How can he find the love and the fulfillment he seeks, and the acceptance he desires, if he cuts himself off and turns his back?
         38. "Behold, this is a time of testing and a time of choice. But give him many choices, for now he believes that there are only two choices, black or white, all or nothing at all, all the way in or all the way out. For is not this the purpose of My Love Charter, to allow people to operate according to their faith, according to their desires, that they may be fulfilled and happy in their service for Me? Is it not the purpose of My Love Charter, to show that My love and My mercy are so wide and so broad, that I would not cast someone aside and throw them out because they feel weak, because they are going through a difficult time, because they don't feel they can make the standard of one hundred percent discipleship?
         39. "If he longs for a change and he needs to experiment and to see for himself, open the doors that he might stay close and that he might continue to be fed. And then if he still chooses to go far, at least you know that you have done your part and that My Family has done its part in opening their arms to him and making a way for him.
         40. "For this is a time of choice. The choice is his. Therefore give him many choices, and then when he makes his choice, stand by him. Show him unconditional love and support and encouragement; keep the connection strong, and the bond of love strong. Invest in him time and prayer and communication. For this one is not lost in My Kingdom; he is not lost from My care and My love. I love him with an everlasting love. Nothing can take this love away. Nothing can break the flow of this love. Nothing he can do can ever stop Me from loving him.
         41. "And this is the love that I desire that you have for him, that no matter what he does or says, or any decision that he will make, it should not lessen your love for him, or lessen your opinion of him, or your desire to pray for him or strengthen him or communicate with him. For he must know that no matter what, he has a place, and there are arms reaching out to him which will receive him, and he will not be rejected or looked down upon no matter what." (End of prophecies.)

         42. (Mama: In light of what the Lord has said about concentric circles of service, and how it doesn't have to be only black or white for such young people, if any of you parents or shepherds would have a burden and feel a definite call of God on your lives to set up a Home for some of our sincere young people who want to serve the Lord in the Family but also experiment with secular school or jobs, then please let your CROs know about it. If the Lord calls you to such a place of service, it could help some of our young people, such as the teen described in these prophecies, to find out what they want to do with their lives without having to leave the Family, or be plagued by doubts or double-mindedness while remaining in a normal DO Home. We don't want anyone to feel obligated to open such a Home, but if the Lord lays it on your heart, we'd be very interested in the lessons learned and progress made. God bless you! We love you!)


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