Only a Child and a Trashbag

I won't go into detail of how things progressed to this point, but it has been quite a ride. Let's just say I never thought I would be talking with the police at midnight or have the F.B.I on speed dial in order to protect three amazing kids!

One of these children lives with a relative, one in a group home to help with his developmental needs and the other needed a home. After a week of lost sleep, at least a million tears, a pointed sermon in our direction and a rather large glass of wine, I realized we were called to provide a safe home for her. 

In an instant, my husband and I were faced with the very important choice of opening our home to a child. Gulp! At this point, we had been married less than two years and the thought of a child was quite scary! A quick glance at our home revealed a bathroom in shambles as it was undergoing a restoration to bring it out of 1960. The vinyl laminate had been pulled up leaving a naked concrete floor, the toilet was in the bathtub for lack of a better place for it and the paint was barely dry. We can make it work!

I get chills every time I think about being in that courtroom explaining the horrific situation surrounding the children to the judge. The attorney presenting our case was a firecracker! Short and aged, but strong and relentless. In the end, the judge ordered the child to be returned from another state within 24 hours.   

Yes, 24 hours. One day to prepare for a 9-year-old child. Most parents have 9 months to prepare or at least read some parenting books. I grabbed another glass of wine and began preparing our 2-bedroom house for a third person. The office area in the room became an empty area for toys, the computer was taken to the living room and the bathroom got a 5-hour makeover complete with a new shower curtain. Sleep is overrated anyway...

Saturday at 6:00pm came quickly. The mother brought the child to her sister's house and left. The little girl had only a trash bag of soiled clothes and a dirty toothbrush. No medicine, medical card or toys.

Here she was. Scared, confused, and safe.