David McCormick

Walking through life with kids from hard places is rewarding, challenging, aggravating, joyful, inspiring and discouraging. In other words; it's a mix of a lot of things. My latest experiences have reinforced this concept that taking consistent steps to journey alongside these kids is oftentimes just plain confusing. Do I give them space? Do I take charge? Do I take all the words (or lack thereof) at face value? The damage that has been done to these kids was done in a relationship of some kind and the only way to restore, heal and rebound is within that same context. They need us. In order for a kid to start trusting again, a time out to "think about what they've done" just won't work. Our hope may be that these kinds of strategies will magically provoke developmental growth spurts making up for years of loss and trauma, but the scars run deeper than mere behaviour can communicate. I know that if God has placed this child in my life it is because He has chosen me...

Vivimos en un mundo completamente  inseguro,  rodeados de amenazas que fomenta una cultura de temor, sospecha y crítica. Tuve el privilegio de servir durante 6 meses en la Secretaría de Bienestar Social (SBS) al lado de una Sub-Secretaria altamente capaz y preparada, entrando con mucho entusiasmo y esperanza en un momento sumamente difícil, posterior a la tragedia del 8 de marzo en donde 41 niñas respiraron por última vez. Sumergidos en la tormenta del Hogar Seguro, intentamos con todo nuestro esfuerzo implementar programas diferentes que realmente respondieran a las necesidades de los jóvenes con un enfoque más allá de derechos fundamentales, pero con amor, aceptación y oportunidades. Llegamos armados no con buenas intenciones sino con métodos que han sido implementados con éxito en contextos igualmente dificiles.  Recuerdo el día que trasladamos a los jóvenes de la vacante mega-institución a una casa con capacidad para 12, y vi los rostros de los chicos al entrar ...

There is something inside of us that instinctively cringes at injustice and longs for life to be fair. When someone shares with me about an opportunity that should have been theirs and was given to someone else, or that God is blessing someone whose life does not line up with their beliefs, I don't always have an answer for them. I tend to look deep into my own bag full of ideologies, beliefs and theology to decide what response to give, but God's answer to this dilemma isn't necessarily a feel good one. This situation plays out most days in my own home as we parent twin 3 year old girls. The idea of life being fair is something that I involuntary push on them. When one of them gets a gift, my knee-jerk reaction is to ask "What about the other one?" I have been tempted to rip teddy bears in two to appeal to this urge to make life as fair as possible and be free of the pain that comes with jealousy. However, that definitely isn't what the bible teaches. The...