As we prepare to send another resident on to the next stage of her journey we frequently hear “oh no! What happened! Why is she leaving early?”
It’s not a matter of her leaving early. On average most girls stay around 3 months at a maternity home. We just happen to offer a longer time period if they would have need of it. And regarding what happened?
Something beautiful is all we can say.
We would like to take all the credit however that wouldn’t be quite the truth. We’ve had a front row seat to watch a young mother decide to become the best parent she could be by coming clean from the effects of drugs. We got to see courage in action while she decided on her own to draw very clear boundaries with friends and family in her life that had negative effects on herself and her baby. We got to see an individual grow by leaps and bounds in her faith by connecting with a college ministry and seriously pursuing her own biblical understanding. We were blessed to see her grow in parenting skills by building an even stronger attachment with her baby and her understanding of his development. We witnessed her tackle head on financial debt to strengthen her starting foundation for herself and her baby. And one of the biggest things we were encouraged by was her extended family circling back around her as they saw the significant changes in her character and choices.
We all are sad to see her leave The Nest as any surrogate parent of sorts would be. But the sadness is alleviated by intense pride in this young woman and her accomplishments. It had been truly amazing to see a young mother quickly get her life back on track with a safe place to live with all her needs provided for, a little discipline and structure, and a group of loving and devoted people providing a hedge of protection around her and her baby. I speak for all the staff when I say we are insanely proud of this young mother. This young mother’s departure to live with family is also alleviated by her saucy reminders that we can’t get rid of her that easy, and she plans to be at all the events, as well as take my job away from me in the future (good riddance I say 🙂
As we welcome in two possibly three new mothers in the next few weeks we are thankful for God allowing us to watch this “princess”. He reminded her of the plans He had for her from before she was ever born. Plans to prosper her and not to harm her, plans to give her hope and a future. The reminder we sent with her is one we probably all need to hear from time to time.
“She knew this transition was not about becoming someone better, but finally allowing herself to become who she’d always been.” –Amy Rubin