On the upside

After my downer post last week, I thought I should follow it up with a bit of an upper.

It's so very hard to see a kid leave without finishing their treatment program.  We see so many things left undone, unaccomplished.

But it can be so very uplifting to see a kid stick it out, face the hard stuff, and complete their treatment.

And last Friday we had one of those in our house.  Two days after seeing a sad end to one placement, we saw a joyful ending of another.

Now, in no way is this kid's life "fixed."  We aren't in the business of fixing.

But we are in the business of leading by example.  Shining a light.  Turning lives in a new direction.

I believe what made this placement work was this kid's action of turning his life over to Christ.  Because, well, THAT is where the fixing starts.

I don't know if this particular kid will ever read this, but in case he does, I want him to know that when he left this place, he took a part of our hearts with him, and prayers from us as well.

And those prayers will continue.

And whether a kid sees the program through to the very end, or has to leave early, I believe they still leave with something learned.

Now they've just got to live it.