The Little Angeles

Aaron and I just dropped off three boys who stayed at our house Monday night through this morning. The boys live in the Huntington Hotel downtown, and they have all been in our program long enough for us to develop deeper relationships with them. Yesterday we took the boys hiking in Santa Anita Canyon (I'll put pictures up soon...). We had a great day searching for lizards, playing with other people's dogs, eating wild black berries, swimming at the base of a waterfall, not whining about the uphill climb back, and going out for Thai food when we were through (it was a 4 mile hike, so we were very happy to sit at a table full of tasty Thai cuisine about two hours after leaving the canyon). We settled down with popcorn and ice cream to watch the Princess Bride after dinner, and the boys liked it so much they watched half of it again during breakfast this morning :) This made me really happy, because the Princess Bride is a classic no child in America should miss! It took some work to make sure the boys were staying clean and helping with chores around the house, but it was a good few days with them. It gets hard when a child repeatedly ignores you, shoots down your ideas, and tests you to see how much room they have to break the rules before you get angry. There were several times since Monday night when I felt my anger and hurt coming to the surface, but with Aaron there and only three boys to take care of, I was able to let it go and distance myself when it was needed. This is so different from the norm at SAY Yes during the year, when there can be up to 15 kids demanding your attention, testing their boundaries, and needing encouragement and love. An atmosphere like that can really drain a person's patience and desire to understand the children's behavior, and the temptation to speak out of anger or control with threats or belittlement comes often. Jesus says that new wine needs fresh wineskins. His love for these kids needs to find a place in our hearts that is willing to let go of revenge and pride, and embrace forgiveness and healing that we all need so desperately. It is hard to choose to let go of our sin, but the good news is that Jesus came to see it done. And so when a child hurts you, you give them boundaries and forgive. And they hurt you again, and again you give boundaries and forgive. And again. And again. New wineskins. There is so much to hope for, and forgiveness points to it.

"Another day, another chance to get it right. Must I still be learning, must I still be learning?" Ben Harper

Love,

Justin