Our family had a momentous day yesterday… My husband and I became grandparents… sort of… of a fifteen year old grandson!  To simplify the story, our daughter Ariane and her husband Michael are 32.  They've been married 6 1/2 years and have been fighting virtually all that time to be allowed to be a part of her young cousin, Michael-Brett's life.  His mother has been, well… let's politely say a little less than an attentive mother and he has grown up alone, neglected and abused. 

They fought for years within the family, then with CPS to try to get him brought to their attention all to no avail.  Then he had a social worker/counselor in school that took notice of what an amazing young man he was and knew the system well enough to do something.  The counselor reported the mother to adult protective services as unable to care for herself, let alone her son.  She has medical issues as well as psychological issues.  Then APS forced CPS to act and the sytem finally began to work.  Michael and Ariane received temporary guardianship last year about this time and yesterday the courts awarded him to them permanently!

To say we're proud of our daughter and son-in-law would be a major understatement.  They have fought a long, hard, exhausting and often intensely emotional battle for this young man.  Sometimes with the courts, sometimes with the family and even sometimes with the young man himself.  He has a lot of learning to do with what normal is and how to function in a "normal" family and world.

The family services agency that interviewed them for the process said that they were, "The best parents they've ever seen come into the system and are the perfect parents for this young man."  We agree.  And we're so glad they're our kids and he's our "new" grandson!

The world is a big place and there are thousands of children like our grandson… abused, neglected and lost.  If there's one in your life, one that you can encourage and love in any small way… please take the time to invest in them.  Pray for them.  We prayed for Michael Brett for years and God protected him in more ways than I can even begin to tell you. You can't believe how much impact a little love can have on a lost and lonely child. 

There's an old story of a man who was walking along the seashore where there were thousands of starfish washed up and dieing.  He bent over and picked up one at a time and threw them back into the sea.  A man came along shaking his head and self-righteously proclaimed, "Why are you wasting your time?  There are thousands and thousands of starfish on this shore what can you do to make a difference?"  The man quietly bent over, picked up another starfish threw him back into the sea and then turned to answer him, "I may not be able to solve the entire problem, but I made all the difference in the world to that one starfish!"

You can make a world of difference in a child's life… one child at a time.

The second reason I wrote about this today is to ask you to pray for Michael, Ariane and Michael-Brett.  Every day is a struggle.  Every day is intense.  Some are beyond wonderful… some beyond frustrating, all a gift from God.  Pray for wisdom, discernment and strength for Michael and Ariane and pray for healing, wholeness and the ability to put into practice everything that Michael Brett is learning about life, being parented and about the God that loves him so dearly.

Audrey Jeanne Roberts