This past year, Flourish Girls hosted twenty gatherings each for 6th and 7th grade girls at Pipkin Middle School. These students were referred by school staff because of behavioral struggles or difficult circumstances outside of school, challenges that go well beyond most of our own experiences.Â
Most of us can’t imagine carrying the weight these girls bring into a classroom, much less into adolescence. Yet Flourish meets them there, offering hope, tools to overcome, and the care every girl deserves.
One afternoon, after a Flourish Girls outing, I sat with a girl on the bench outside the school for nearly ninety minutes. She checked her old cell phone constantly, waiting for a ride that never seemed to come. In her small, gentle voice, she told me about her dog, her favorite shows, her classes, and about living in a hotel with her mom and two siblings.
She was hopeful because her mom’s new boyfriend was letting them move in. She proudly showed me the drawings and poems tucked into her worn paperback journal. Everything she owned seemed to be stuffed into that dirty backpack. Her creativity was stunning, her spirit bright, yet her circumstances unbearably heavy.Â
The time on that bench was both a blessing and heartbreaking. It was an intimate glimpse into her strength and her struggle.
The Flourish Girls program shows up week after week, creating an environment where hard issues can be named, and healing can begin. The girls are celebrated. Their voices are heard. Their value is affirmed. They learn, heal, laugh, and grow. Some open up quickly, others slowly, and a few will find their voice in the coming years. The work in their hearts is not finished, but these years can become the turning point.
When girls learn to value themselves as Jesus teaches, they pursue dreams, break destructive cycles, and flourish.