Once a Calvary kid…

Often, we have to say goodbye to children as they leave Calvary Home. Now don’t get me wrong, we celebrate in a big way when a family is restored back to a healthy place. But sometimes we see that a family isn’t truly ready or healthy. These are the heartbreaking times when we aren’t ready to say goodbye.  The decision-making steps of foster care are not in our hands, but in the hands of judges and DSS reporting. We do our best to provide any documentation we can to support a child in need to remain in foster care, but sometimes, it’s just not enough and a child goes home.

Recently, we had a 10-year-old boy who was going home to live with his mom and older siblings. We saw a lot of red flags about this little man going home. We did what we could to report this, but things were already set into motion that we could not stop. So, we worked to prepare him and set him up for success as he stepped back into his life with mom. He had several weekend home visits to ease the transition. Each time he returned to Calvary Home he asked if we could take him shopping with his chore money. We assumed he wanted to load up on things for himself in fear that he wouldn’t have access when he returned with mom. We were wrong.

Each time we took him shopping, he would purchase items for his home. He picked out silverware because he was tired of walking to the gas station to get plastic ones from the snack counter. He purchased a crock pot so he could start meals before school, so they would be ready when mom was home from work. He purchased hangers so he could hang up his clothes in the closet.

It's easy to sit back and think that it’s sweet that he wants to contribute to his household and the success of his family. But the reality of the situation is, that he is a 10-year-old little boy and he shouldn’t have to think about survival. His time at Calvary Home taught him about a higher standard of living. He learned how to cook, do laundry, study, and advocate for himself. When he returned home with his mom, he made the conscious choice to fight to maintain this higher standard of living and maintain his new sense of normalcy. The silverware, crockpot and hangers were his attempt to pull his family into this higher standard of living alongside him.

These are the times that we must cling to the fact that our Lord is bigger than we are. We cling to the truth that the Lord loves this child more than we do. Our prayer is that this young man stays safe in his home and this family can learn to thrive again.  He knows where to find us if he needs our help again, and we will always be here if he needs us. Once a Calvary kid, always a Calvary kid.