Collisions

As I type, two worlds are beginning one giant collision on the other side of our apartment door.  When we visited Kansas recently, our big news was about our home's transition this summer.  Instead of being a partial long-term residential / partial short-term emergency shelter home for girls, we are becoming the long-term residential home with 8 long-term spots!  The shelter girls (who stay on campus for 45 days or less until a long-term placement is secured) will be filling up the house next door and will no longer be staying at our house.  Thus, on this sunny Sunday afternoon, the 4 long-term girls from next door (who have lived here for lengths of time ranging from 8 months to almost 4 years) are moving their things into our home, and our short-term shelter youth are moving out. The oldest Barton girl who has been with us the entire time we have been here moved out this weekend into our Girl's Transitional Living Program (right across the street) to begin her journey to independence. Our remaining 3 long-term girls will be staying with us, and thus the giant collision I previoiusly referenced.  And thus the biggest prayer request I have shared in the last several months. We are SO excited to have been given the privilege of running a home for girls who will be making Vera Lloyd their home for longer amounts of time (long-term youth are allowed to stay as long as their case plan deems necessary).  This will give our role and life another shot of stability while providing more longevity and opportunities to the relationships we form with the girls.  In addition, we are very excited to work with the girls we are acquiring from next door.  We have known them on the surface over the last year and are excited to jump into their lives.  However, we are under no illusions that this transition will play out without bumps in the road.  Merging the two worlds of our home and the Pettus home will be quite the task over the next few weeks.  Motivating an attitude among our current youth to be welcoming and helpful to their new housemates rather than territorial, jealous, and rude will take all we have within us.  Ensuring that our new youth feel safe, secure, loved, and welcomed will be a full-time task.  And the prayer on my heart has been for preparation.  All week long, I have been exhaling the prayer, "Lord, prepare my heart for each of these girls."  There is no way to be prepared for every situation, but I have been begging that my heart will be prepared to love, to accept, to challenge, to correct, and to parent these girls.  Because as the excitement mounts, so does the anxiety.  Lord, prepare my heart.  Tomorrow morning, we start our journey with this newly integrated house.  Thankfully, our therapist begins her weekly sessions with the girls first thing in the morning, as well.  Please be in prayer for all of the youth involved in the transitions across campus, as well as each of the staff.  That Christ's healing love will be at the forefront of our expression toward them and toward each other.