Unfortunately, helping the young woman and her twins did not work out as we hoped. Without going into millions of details (I wouldn’t even know where to begin), she ultimately is not at a place in her life where she is ready to tackle long-term recovery from her drug addiction, and is no longer staying with us (of her own volition).
At the moment I feel bummed. I am sad for her and her children, and that she threw away an opportunity to remove herself from a negative environment and pursue healthiness and stability. I am sad to know what her children have endured and what they will likely continue to endure. I am sad that our investment in this young woman’s life did not yield change (or at least any change I can see). I am also dealing with some feelings of failure – like if I had done some things differently, the outcome might have been different. But ultimately, I know that God is in control and loves her and her kids (way!) more than I do, and that truth is something I have had to return to over and over. I will continue to pray for her and her kids – mainly that God would change her heart, transform her life from the inside out, and set her free.
Though I feel a great deal of sadness, I also feel relief. Honestly, the last few weeks have been extremely stressful and draining for us. The experience was a roller coaster of ups and downs and we truly put every ounce of time and energy we possessed into helping her, and it was exhausting. This experience only lasted 2.5 weeks, but I think we will need twice that just to recover 🙂 The situation was painfully stretching for me and I was forced to rely on the Lord in a unique way I had never experienced before. Once I have had a little more time to fully process everything, I will share more of my thoughts in an upcoming blog.
We really want to thank all you who prayed for us, encouraged us, and donated clothes, baby items, etc. We felt so loved and supported by you and are so grateful we didn’t go through this alone. It was such a blessing to have so many fellow Christians come alongside us in this whole process and demonstrate the love of Christ 🙂
The Lord had me praying for you guys on many occasions. Two and a half weeks may be all He required of you. That’s a LOT of hours of impartation and observation of a Godly home. Nothing in te Kingdom returns void. Rest assured she saw and heard all she could handle and she’ll not forget it. When the 2 Kingdoms collide, the pressure can be intense. This young lady had a taste and we’ll be in prayer for her to develop an insatiable hunger for the Truth! You have been a blessing to so many by your selfless actions. You guys are the cream of the crop. GOD bless you!
ooops, forgot to leave my email. Sorry, not very techy! Elaine Kling
Yeah, I’m with Ms. Kling on this one. Don’t focus on what you seem to be seeing as failure. Isaiah 55 says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will My Word be which goes forth from My mouth. It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (or something pretty close to that).
You may not feel that now, but seeds take time and her decisions aren’t your responsibility anyway. You can stand proud as a servant of the Lord knowing your response to the opportunity was true to God’s heart. I read a success story here for you two, Melissa. I look up to you guys as an example of who I want to grow into.
I agree with everything said above!! Continuing to pray 🙂
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement Elaine, Kevin, and Ahz! It is true, our efforts do not return void even if we don’t ever see the result. Deep down I know that, but it’s something I often need to be reminded of. There’s obviously pride in me too if I think that I even had the ability (and could have done something differently) for a different outcome. God is the one who changes hearts, not me. Thanks for speaking truth 🙂
I agree with the wise words of my fellow blog readers. God has a plan for this family. She and her precious children in the palm of His Hands.