Hi! My name is Amarah. Kids are important to Jesus, and they’re important to me, too.

Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 (KJV), “Whatever you’ve done unto the least of these (kids), you’ve done it unto me.”

“Kids like me” are kids and adults of all ages whose parents are, or were, drug addicts, and alcoholics; kids who have suffered, or who are suffering, abuse and neglect on multiple levels; and kids who are victims of bullying.

I was honored to sit down and talk with Justin. Meeting Justin was special because he is the first male inmate to tell his story in my column. I realized quickly — we have several things in common. He recalled things about his family and that his mom was more like his “big sister” than his “mom” because she acted more like a teen rather than a parent. He said it was like, “the best thing ever,” but then she abandoned Justin and his brother — just left them in an apartment and never returned.

Sarah (my mother) was never there for me to begin with. She was never like a big sister, never like a parent. It was like she was dead — that’s what it felt like to me. She had the ideology that people would think we were “sisters” because her brain was set at a teenage mentality. I remember her saying things to me like, “People will think we’re sisters!” and I wondered what she meant because she was my mother — why would anyone think we were sisters? I didn’t understand then, but I understand, now. Just like Sarah, and Justin’s mom, and anyone else addicted to drugs/alcohol — their brain is altered to an abnormal state so how could they possibly have rational thinking? It isn’t possible.

Justin said he had trouble in school, “because we moved so much but I always had friends in school and I always had good teachers.”

Like Justin, I had trouble in school, too. Alamosa Elementary fourth grade was my 16th school. Commonalities for kids like me include: moving a lot/multiple schools, brain damage caused by the parent’s alcohol/drug-use during pregnancy, and the abuse/neglect after the baby’s birth.

Justin was born in Albuquerque, NM. He lettered in football and track in high school, and always wanted to play for the NFL. “Sports was very important to me in school. That’s how I made friends.”

“I’m not artistic but every-once-in-a-while I would write a poem. My poems were mostly about life.”

“My father died, drinking and driving. My mother used drugs and alcohol and died during my senior-year in high school. My maternal grandmother died of sclerosis of the liver and my maternal grandfather died from drinking and drowning.”

“I was mostly emotionally abused from abandonment. My mother would physically abuse my brothers and me. Was I sexually abused? My answer is two-sided. I was never sexually abused - physically. But, I saw a lot of sexual activity.”(Like Justin, I witnessed a lot of sexual activity, too).

“I attended church when I was in foster care. I believe in God with all my heart, mind and soul.”

Justin has four children but rarely gets to see them (Justin, remember, as a Christian, this is subject to change)!

Justin does not drink alcohol but used meth and heroin for six years, “…because I got depressed. But, I want to stop using drugs more than anything I have ever done. Drugs have negatively affected every area of my life.”

“My advice for parents who are addicts: II Timothy 2:22, Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Never lose Hope in yourself or life!!”

“My advice for grandparents of kids like me: Deuteronomy 6:5/6:7/6:6 - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk, and when you lay down, and when you rise.”

Thank you for talking with me, Justin! Please, always keep your faith, and don’t stop writing your poetry!

Thank you, Sheriff Jackson and Corporal Sanchez!

Write to me: Amarah’s Kids Like Me, P.O. Box 354, Alamosa, CO 81101. If you know a kid who doesn’t have a Bible, let me know - I’ll make sure he/she gets one, “…and all the earth may know there is a God…” (1 Samuel 17:46, KJV).

Amarah’s “Kids Like Me” offers non-denominational World Bible School (WBS) Bible Correspondence Courses (free/postage paid) in English/Spanish. Send your name/age/address - I’ll get you started ASAP! I hope to hear from you soon!

Until next time, remember, Jesus Loves You, and JESUS IS LORD!