Often these conversations approach this very topic. Just a few weeks ago I heard a conversation with Dr. James Dobson on the forgotten generation of the elderly. It was sad to hear individuals much like my own grandmother, tell of how their families do not have the time, patience, and energy for them anymore. They are alone in their thoughts and memories. This is not just a problem with the elderly.
Statistics show that seven out of every ten teenagers have thought about suicide before.
I often hear from our youth that no one understands who they are, and where they are in life. They feel alone in a world full of pressures and choices, often pressures and choices that we were not forced to face at their age. This theme was very evident to me last weekend as I attended the Rocky Mountain Synod Youth Gathering with eleven of our youth last weekend. Eight hundred high school youth, as well as adult leaders converged together in Estes Park. The excitement of so many people gathered together was life changing, yet at times a feeling of loneliness could be seen in the faces of many of these youth.