Wow! It has been a while since I have written anything for the newsletter. We are looking up and moving forward. There is a song by Israel Houghton & Ricardo Sanchez called “Moving Forward.” The words in the chorus are:
I'm not going back, I'm moving ahead, I'm here to declare to you my
past is over, in you. Old things are made new, I surrendered my life to
Christ and I’m moving forward.
Keeping the words of this song in mind, I want to share a story. One of our clients we will call Amy came to us approximately three years ago. She had punished her six-year-old son with a household cord. He had misbehaved at school and his teacher called Amy to inform her. The following day he went to school and complained that his arm hurt and the school nurse noticed bruising on his arm. Amy’s son was taken to a foster home and his mother was arrested.
When she came to the center, I remember thinking this young woman doesn’t look like she could abuse her child. She told me she punished him the same way she was always punished. As we met week after week for ten weeks she kept confessing to me that, she did have a problem with anger. We tackled her anger issues, her self-esteem, and her parenting skills.
Amy and her son came by to see me yesterday. She was smiling from ear to ear. She told me that her case had been closed and that she has full custody of her son again. Amy told me that she has completed and passed her GED. She went on to say that she that she has completed four semesters at our community college and she is carrying an A/B average. She is studying to work in the medical field. I told her how proud I was of her and she said, “When I came here I didn’t think much of my self, but because of you and this place I’m proud of myself. I know now I can make a better life for my son and myself.”
You know I’ve worked here for almost four and one half years. I never get tired of hearing someone who was down and out decided to turn his/her life around. As I was gathering the totals for all the classes taught in 2009 I was amazed at the number of people CrossRoads Pregnancy Center helps. 47 clients attended Parenting Classes in 2009 and 382 Parenting Classes taught. I ask you to pray for the clients who have not made life-changing decisions, and I want to say thank you for all of you that have contributed to this ministry. I know God has great plans for CrossRoads and I am thankful that I am a part of this ministry.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."