June 25, 2021

It’s never a bad idea to review and evaluate how you handled a confrontation. Our side yard is a gathering area for village kids and area families as it’s the only way to get to the swimming hole in the creek. This afternoon, a family with young children were swimming when about half a dozen of the village kids arrived. Normally, it wouldn’t have been a problem except one of them decided it would be a good idea to jump off the bridge into the water. Even that wouldn’t have been much of a problem except for the little kids swimming in the water below him. When I told him not to do this, he started giving some attitude, prompting me to order him off the bridge. He threw one leg over the guard rail and sat there, whereupon I told him he was no longer allowed on the property. 

We talked it out, I relented and went back into the house. A few minutes later, the father of the family rang our doorbell. “They were flipping you off and dropping the F-bomb, so I decided to take my kids out of there. I thought you ought to know.” 

“You aren’t the ones who are going to leave,” I responded, and headed down to the creek. When I told the kids they had to go home, one of the others started getting cocky, telling me he wasn’t going anywhere and I couldn’t make him.

“You can’t touch me,” he sneered. “No one can tell me I can’t cuss and swear wherever I want!” I reminded him this was private property. He began to posture. “I’m not afraid of you,” as he puffed out his chest in a demonstration designed to impress the girls present. He and two of his buddies finally stormed off to the road where they stayed in an attempt to flaunt their immunity. They finally left.

We had a graduation to attend, so the incident ended and we drove off, leaving me to ponder how I might better have handled the situation. I’ve considered our swimming hole an opportunity for witness to the Gospel, but it’s a bit difficult to witness to kids you’ve banned from the property. And these are the ones who need Christ the most. So I’m praying for wisdom, to know how to reopen a door I had to close for the sake of the family with young children. These kids are known around town and by the sheriff’s department, and need more than adult disapproval. So I’m praying, and invite you to do the same.