David McCormick

We all walk through dark seasons marked by feelings we would rather not have, where the mingling of these emotions become the white noise of our journey. I have walked through seasons where a recurring sense of frustration is like a bad case of the hiccups that just won't go away. I have been in seasons where anger was always just one word below the surface. Seasons of sadness, desperation, confusion, grief and guilt. In my world, I speak with a lot of adoptive parents, social workers, pastors and kids and although we all have varying abilities of putting words to these seasons, we are all feeling something.  So what do we do about it? How are we supposed to navigate the turbulent waters of rebellious kids, lack of good friendships, hard decisions and an underlying belief system that maintains that we should be better than this? We should be able to pull a 180 and find joy in the midst of any storm. We should know the steps toward broadening our perspective, breaking throug...

If you have ever spoken with a child or youth that doesn't have a family of their own, you most likely remember the look in their eye more than the words that were spoken. Some say that our deepest desire as human beings is to simply belong; just to be an irrevocable member of something greater than ourselves. Here in Central America, the gang crisis has exploded over the last two decades, bringing in thousands of wandering youth into the comforting arms of belonging and purpose. Kids who once felt alone in their homes and in their hearts, have encountered the life-giving feeling of being united with others in a visible way. To belong to a gang looks like haircuts, tattoos, holding fast to the higher order and sacrificing oneself for the greater good of the tribe. For families, the tribe membership means last names on birth certificates, generational traditions and affiliated behaviours but even in the most amazing families there are kids who don't feel like they truly belong. ...