Most of you know that I spent about 6 1/2 years working with a ministry called Children At Heart, more specifically the Texas Baptist Children's Home in Round Rock, TX. And I know I talk about it a lot, but I really can't help myself. It's still so much of who I am, and the people there are so precious to me. It's hard not to talk about what you love. :-) Anyhow, for those I haven't talked to death about it, when I left in March 2011, I was the case manager for all the girls living on campus, but in my earlier years working there, I had the privilege of getting to work with a special group of boys that lived in Cottage 7. This cottage was the "little boys" cottage on campus. In fact, a lot of the boys I placed were as young as 5 or 6 when they came to us. Cottage 7, while they could be very physically exhausting, were basically my emotional escape during my years at TBCH. If I was having a rough day, if my teenage girls' cottage had pushed me to the brink of insanity (don't get me wrong, I loved those girls to death too, but come on, teenage girls are who they are), or if I just needed to "get away," I would go to Cottage 7. An hour of playing with those little guys was the best medicine for a bad day. :-) It would be hard to express how truly special these guys are to me. When it was determined that we were going to make the shift for me to take over the girls and I realized that meant I was going to have to give up the case management for the boys, it was actually quite heartbreaking for me.
But we made the shift, and even though I moved into a less direct role with them, I still got to be a big part of their lives through the choirs and other things on campus. When I knew I was going to make the move to NYC, I think they were the hardest kids to tell. One in particular, Heath (obviously not his real name), took it pretty hard. I had placed Heath about 3 years earlier, when he was 9, after his father's death (his mother had left when he was just a toddler). I had spent a lot of time working with different specialists to get him diagnosed and treated for multiple social and learning disabilities, and though he still had his struggles, he was (and still is) doing great. My last week on campus, I went around saying my goodbyes, and spent an afternoon over at cottage 7. Heath said, "Miss Janell, I have a present for you." and he went back to his room. He comes back with a pretty large red plastic dragon figurine, which he presents to me proudly. This might not seem like much to any of you, but I knew that that dragon had been given to him by his host family, whom he adored, and was one of his most prized possessions.
This, funnily enough, set off a hilarious chain of events where all of the boys went to their rooms to get me a comparable "gift." Some of the things I received that day...two stuffed dolphins, like 5 Zhu Zhu pets (and even a Zhu Zhu pets "house"), some interesting lego creations, a porcelain cat, and probably some other things I can't remember. I could barely carry it all back to my office.
But anyhow, all this to say that that bizarre red dragon is now one of my most prized possessions. In fact, much to the chagrin of my roommate, it sits right on my dresser all the time. And every day when I see it, it is a reminder of how, even though I am selfish and awful and was totally not equipped to do that job, God was somehow able to use me to help these amazing children. It's also a good reminder that even though it sounds cliche', the best gifts are really those that come from the heart. That's a good thing to keep in mind in these coming days.
So, I know you're dying for the visual, and I don't think it will disappoint...
Beautiful, isn't it? :-)
And in the interest of not being too serious here, another quick Heath story...
When I came back to TX in July for my cousin's wedding, I drove up to Round Rock for the day to see everyone. Heath was in trouble, so he was stuck in his room for a little bit, but his house parents were kind enough to let me pop in and say hi. It was pretty great to see him, and he told me he had a gift for me. Of course, he had no idea I was coming, so I don't think he put quite as much thought into this one. Haha. THIS is what he came up with:
Hope you all have a truly blessed holiday season, my friends. By the way, I think it goes without saying that the gift of Jesus trumps red dragon and cat bowl. Don't forget it.
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