A Passing Week
Bernardo has been gone a little over a week. For better or worse I've had a 1001 things to distract me from thinking about 'the why' behind his having to leave. Yesterday we went to buy a Christmas tree.
Bernardo was randomly with us last year when we went to purchase one. He'd spent the day working with David and went with us later that evening. That was the first time he ever came to our house. Up until the point of his leaving we spoke about how cool it would be that we spend a second Christmas purchasing a tree together.
It's a bittersweet Christmas this year.
I wonder about the 17 year old that entered our lives for some reason. I wonder how he's doing and if we'll ever have a true relationship again with him.
It's a relief to not have to deal with the disorganized county offices, overworked social workers, courtrooms, policemen, school principals, and fed up teachers. But there is still a gaping space in my heart for my foster "son" who was probably better fit to be my brother than anything else.
It has certainly been quiet this past week which has been nice in light of upcoming finals this week in school.
As I begin to reflect on Bernardo's short stay with my family I wonder if it was not us that gave him a place to stay, rather it was him that gave us the opportunity to live in community with him. He didn't need us. He'd been quite resourceful up until that point in his life when it came to street survival yet he chose to settle down for a few months with a family very different from any he'd ever known.
Bernardo came at a time when I was asking God a lot of questions about my life. He was nothing that I looked for and everything that I needed.
Bernardo was randomly with us last year when we went to purchase one. He'd spent the day working with David and went with us later that evening. That was the first time he ever came to our house. Up until the point of his leaving we spoke about how cool it would be that we spend a second Christmas purchasing a tree together.
It's a bittersweet Christmas this year.
I wonder about the 17 year old that entered our lives for some reason. I wonder how he's doing and if we'll ever have a true relationship again with him.
It's a relief to not have to deal with the disorganized county offices, overworked social workers, courtrooms, policemen, school principals, and fed up teachers. But there is still a gaping space in my heart for my foster "son" who was probably better fit to be my brother than anything else.
It has certainly been quiet this past week which has been nice in light of upcoming finals this week in school.
As I begin to reflect on Bernardo's short stay with my family I wonder if it was not us that gave him a place to stay, rather it was him that gave us the opportunity to live in community with him. He didn't need us. He'd been quite resourceful up until that point in his life when it came to street survival yet he chose to settle down for a few months with a family very different from any he'd ever known.
Bernardo came at a time when I was asking God a lot of questions about my life. He was nothing that I looked for and everything that I needed.
