Update on Isaiah

As many of you know, we rescued a kid, in fact Isaiah, from a broken adoption some three years ago, when his former family sent him back to Liberia.  I cannot tell a lie, this has been a struggle, a hard journey, not only for us, but for him as well.  So much so, that I have almost written a book.  I am up to nearly 100,000 words and need a final chapter, which, thank you Lord, I now have.  While we have tried as a family of eight children at home, four others married with children, and ourselves, parents to all of them, he has struggled with being in a family, let alone trusting parents.  His biological mother died in childbirth resulting in his sisters being sent to the orphanage where they would be adopted into the "Great America" and him being kept by his father, only to be rejected by his new "mother" two years later and being sent to the same orphanage.  You can see where I am going.  His trust in "mothers" was not real great, so by the time he got adopted, rejected, and rescued by me, he didn't have a lot of of belief in parents, or particularly mothers.  At least I can say without a doubt from me or him, that our relationship has been real, if not normal.  He knows I "get" him.  He knows I know he cannot feel much for me or the rest of the kids for that matter, and he knows I hate that for him.

He has what I call "survivor" disorder, where he survives each day entirely one day at a time, not recalling much from yesterday, and waking to survive the new day dawning.  On top of that he has post traumatic stress from, mother dying, father leaving, orphanage horror, adoption failing, Africa again with hunger and death, and new family who just look too good to be true.  In all of this he disconnected with everyone, was abused, both physically and sexually, an became an abuser himself for a short period, which caused hatred of his own self at the ripe old age of thirteen.  I did not survive the last three years without a Savior, Redeemer, and Lord.  But, tragically, even though Jesus is all of that to me, Isaiah cannot believe He can be that to him because of his past, and the things he daily does that he cannot understand.

But, in all of this, God is good.  He brought Isaiah to us knowing the struggles we both would have and trusted all of us, all eight children at home and four others married with children, to accept, try, believe and hope that Isaiah would come through in the end.  Now, I will remind you that our children at home have issues, learning as well as, cerebral palsy, bipolar, Tourettes, Aspergers, ADHD, OCD, and sensory issues beyond your comprehension.  I think God has a sense of humor.  I have thought many times I would go "under" but my faith in God and his path is more than what I see, that is most of the time.  I can't tell how many times I have felt like a missionary where I cannot go to a church service because of duty calling in the field at home, not abroad.

But, thanks to my amazing Principle of our Christian home school, he has been accepted into Job Core, which is a Government program where he will not only get his GED, but, his driving license, up to two trades, and three years in a trade college, with all expenses paid.  I am continually amazed, astounded, and thankful for a God who knows what we are going through, from both sides, and see the solution for each. I think this track applies to all children whose wings have been broken and only Jesus can teach them to fly. This is the title track to the album Broken Hearts and Broken Wings played acoustically.