Isaiah Rocks!!

So today after getting back from the beach yesterday, I piled my two eldest boys in the PT convertible, and we headed for Franklin North Carolina.  I was not sure what to expect, how Isaiah had adjusted, as our phone calls had been few in the last eight or nine weeks.  The boys wanted to come, even though they have been the recipients of most of Isaiah's angst, and I understood why.  All three of us were waiting with bated breath to hope that this had been a wake-up call, a realization that we cannot live in our own little world not thinking of all who surround us.

I arrived to this somewhat rural, but quaint, rustic campus, with a lot of buildings, and parked before the  boom gates assuming that the building in the front was the "sign in" place I had been told off.  Sure enough, I had guessed right.  I signed in and was escorted to the counsellor's office.  I had spoken with her several times, and felt right at home with someone who was on "Friday's" as he is called here, side. I had always told Isaiah that one day his real name, given by his parents, would mean something, and sure enough, because it is his legal name, he has come to see that "Friday" is special.  No-one bears that name here but him.  She is a foster parent, amazingly enough, and we had a lot in common.  She told me how Isaiah is doing so well here, and I loved the photos of her soon to be son, who is two.

We waited while she found where Isaiah, or Friday as he is known here, was.   Soon he appeared at the door, and was quite taken back to see Dustin and Devin sitting there with me waiting for him.  I could tell he wasn't sure why they had come, but I immediately noticed the change in him.  No more furtive looking around, or licking his lips wondering what was going on, he gave a solid connect with his eyes, a genuine hug, and a confidence I had not seen before.  My heart leapt, because I knew change had happened, even in the midst of being thrown into a scary place, wondering if this was right for him.  Memories from the orphanage became so rampant, that it was hard for him to discern that, this time, his "PARENTS" were doing the right thing by him.

He openly told me that he had cried the first day, not able to discern because of the scariness of it all, but quickly told me that older kids there had taken him under their wing and put him on the right path.  This is not a dissimilar story to my other kids who have gone off to college, wondering what awaits them when they get there.  But, he said, "I cried quietly, not like when I was sent back to Liberia.  I wailed very loudly then, because I was terrified".

I cannot express how PROUD I am of him.  There are four levels at school.  Green, just entered, red, Ok in the middle, Silver a cut above the other kids, and Gold really excellent.  He is on the silver level which constitutes maybe 5-10% of the campus.  My heart is bursting with pride.  He gets it finally, he knows that this road is hard, but he is willing to fight for his future.  He knows he is smart, he has pride in himself for the very first time, and was so thankful to come "home".  Yes, he said to me quite openly, "Mom, I am so glad you taught me rules, and washing, and being a part of the family, because I would not have got it here".   He has learned work ethic, discipline, attitude and respect and is currently part of the team who is going to build the new swimming pool at the facility.

There are no other words other than "God Is Good, and He Is Faithful!"  I am so thrilled and happy to have 'Friday' home for Thanksgiving.  By the way, he also asked me could he bring a friend home that has no bedroom, or a place to sleep at his home.  That brought me to tears, as he is thinking of someone else for the first time in his very short life.  I am speechless, and more thankful this Thanksgiving than I have been in a really long time.