Liz Murray refused to follow her parents in a lifestyle that included the three greatest evils of poverty; drug addiction, prostitution and dependence on welfare. It was the strength of her personality that helped her avoid these traps. What psychological factors caused her to prevail?
1. Her deep love for her parents caused a role reversal where she felt responsible for the care of her parents. Ordinarily this is not healthy but in her case it forced her to stay clean so she could protect them from themselves.
2. Refusal to be dominated by a charismatic boyfriend. Her father had been a model of compassion and Liz longed to find someone with his love for learning.
3. Mentors – Once she decided to leave the streets, she was able to enroll in an alternative school where she was challenged by the director in a way that had never happened in previous school experiences. Another mentor was a fellow student in the school who had a “can do” attitude Liz admired and began to emulate.
4. Self- awareness – Once off the streets, Liz realized how needy she was and hated that.
5. Ability to cast a new vision – Once in school and around healthy people, Liz said the following, “It was thrilling, to see how people built a life so different from what I’d known. It filled me with longing to build the same; it was inspiring to me.”
So there you have the key psychological factor, a sense of longing to be all that God intended her to be. You as mentors have the same opportunity each week to help build a sense of longing in your child so that they can begin to believe that they are part of a larger plan for their life if they will only believe in themselves.