Monday, July 29, 2013
"Jesus said to them, "Let the children come to me, for the
Kingdom of God belongs to such as they. Don't send them away! I
tell you as seriously as I know how that anyone who refuses to come to God as a
little child will never be allowed into his Kingdom." (Mark 10:14-15
Living Bible)
Hey Gang, His name was
Tony and he was a spit-fire that could turn a peaceful and tranquil day into a
roaring fire in a matter of minutes. How he packed so much hatred into an
eight-year-old body was beyond our comprehension but then we learned what
"the bottom of the barrel really meant".
At the time we received a
request to consider taking Tony into our very young and inexperienced program,
we had visions of grandeur and believed there were no troubled young folks that
we could not love and provide a "shirt tail for them to hand
onto". But, as we gained scar tissue, we also gained
understanding that some children were beyond our experience level to deal with.
Tony was one of those
children. I might add here, the younger the child referred, the more
damaged the child. On arrival, we found a zombiezed child. His mom
kept Tony locked in a closet and fed him the equivalent for a month’s supply of
control drugs in a matter of days. As the drugs wore off the temperature
began to rise. There was no way that we were going to place this child in
one of the houses so, we did as we often did, we accepted the challenge and
moved Tony into our home.
I could give you a running log
of the two years we had Tony in our home, but it would fill many blogs and that
is not the important point I want to make here. Within several months my
kids, who were the real treatment people in Tony's life, began to make huge
inroads into his heart. Tony became an integral part of our family and
was soon functioning as an eight-year-old should.
But,,,,,Toni provided his mom
with a welfare check and found that if she moved to an adjoining county
the judge of that county would return Tony to her. This she did
successfully. Toni was taken from our family and returned to the same
environment that had nearly destroyed him before. She was very
adept at keeping the legal beagles at arm’s length, moving frequently.
We lost contact with Toni for
two years; then one day we received an application for a summer camper by the
name of Tony. Could it be our Tony? Miracle of all miracles it
was.
The cabin he was assigned to
went on a two-day camping trip several miles from the Village. On pick up
day, I notified the transportation person I would go and pick up the
campers. On the return trip home, I noticed that Tony's eyes were
glued to the back of my head. I invited him to come and stand beside
me. After several minutes he asked me a question that continues to hurt
deep inside my heart. He said, “Dad, why did they take me from
you who loved me and sent me to a place that hated me? I will
not try and explain the pain that cut deep into my soul at that moment.
Sooooo, As I re-lived this
tragic experience in my life, the Lord directed me to a passage of Scripture
that I believe that every believer needs to place on their bathroom mirror, refrigerator
door and the rear view mirror of their vehicles. Shortly before the Lord
ascended to the Father, He ask Peter three questions, “Do you love me?
Do you love Me? Do you love Me?" Peter's answer was the same, “Yes,
I love You.” Notice Jesus answers to those three responses: “Tend
My lambs, shepherd My sheep and Tend my sheep.” (John 21:15-17 KJV.)
Now, tie- bar that passage with
Matthew's words, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who
believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy mill stone
hung around his neck and be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt. 18:6).
Has a Tony crossed your path lately?
Blessings,
Gramps
My heart hurts when I think of
Tony and so many others whose wounds were so very deep. I wonder where they are, what
they are doing, etc. Many we know and have been able to have some contact. What we do know is- that every youth and
family member who have participated in our programs have been loved and heard
the Good New of Jesus’ love for them. But
we are only Seed Planters. Choosing to
follow Jesus is a choice we each have to make!!
Have you made that choice? Gma J
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