The week before school began, D's mother decided that she just couldn't do it anymore. So she made the decision to take D and his younger brother (5 years old) to Social Services and simply gave them up. D and his little brother were placed in a temporary foster care situation. Someone decided that their mom should still have visitation rights, so each Thursday morning before school they went for visitation. D and his brother would sit in the playroom watching the door waiting for mom to come in. They sat there for the full hour and Mom would never show. After that brutally disappointing hour they were then rushed off to school. Can you imagine facing that type of disappoint on a weekly basis and then being expected to jump to work and function normally? No adult I know could do that, yet a 5 and 6 year old were expected to. This went on for months, and then finally in January of that year we got the best news ever, a wonderful couple decided they would like to adopt both boys. We worked with psychologist, social workers, and many other people and told the boys that their mom would always love them and be their mom, but they were so lucky they were getting another mommy and daddy. "That means I'll have three mommies," exclaimed D. Mrs. Lekovich is my school mommy, my real mommy and now this new mommy. Now excited as he may have been at first this was a tough road. D had developed some bad habits. In order to get fed with his real mom he had to lay on the floor and throw a temper tantrum until she got up and fed them. So D's way of expressing a need was to have a fit. In his new home, his new parents were working hard to break him of these habits. This was a trying time with plenty of ups and downs, but the boys began to realize that like we all promised them, "this was their forever family who loved them and would never leave them."
The week before school got out for summer, something drastic happened yet again in sweet D's life that no child should ever experience, he lost another "forever family," when the boys were ripped from this home due to miscommunication about discipline policies prior to the adoption becoming legal. This was the last week of school, the boys were being thrown back into the foster care system. We had no clue where they would be pleased, and because of privacy laws, I had no way of finding out where he'd go to school or any way of keeping in touch with him.
My allotted time to influence his life was up. For my 180 days I was his only constant, his punching bag, confidant, friend, enemy at times (as he saw it), his "school mommy." But even I, with all the good intentions, am human and would ultimately fail him. He needed to know that there was someone who loved him before he was even born, and no matter what happens to him will always love him, and that is Jesus. I pulled him aside and let him know the truth of Jesus' love for him, and pray daily he never forgets. D is an amazing young man and even though I have no way of ever finding him again, I hope he is somewhere with people who teach him about his heavenly daddy and he grows into the man he was created to be.
I haven't shared sweet D's story with many people for a few reasons, but mainly one. Fear of doing the wrong thing, according to my North Carolina teaching license. The wrong thing, HA, even typing the words makes my blood boil with anger. It is considered wrong to love a child and let them know there is a heavenly father who will never forsake them. It is wrong to pray with a child in school. It is wrong to give them hope when everything else in their world is a shaky, horrible mess. It is wrong to give them a small glimmer of hope, when the rest of the world has walked out on them. "But you teach in a public school, You shouldn't inflict your beliefs on someone else, you don't know what his family's beliefs are, and you might OFFEND someone." I could hear all the naysayers. Truth be told this little boy was yet again an orphan to be passed around in the system. There wasn't anyone for him to call family, anyone to go home to, anyone to get a hug from at the end of the day, anyone who knew the heart of this little boy and what made him tick, anyone to OFFEND, anyone to inflict their beliefs into this young soul, and so I felt, knew, it was my calling. But still, I was scared of the repercussions of my actions. However, I would much rather pay the price to a state or school board, than to my Savior one day.
So I took D outside, sat at a picnic table and told him all about Jesus. I told him that he was going to have a lot of hurt in his life. I told him that adults make mistakes because we are human. However, there is someone who created D and loved him before he was even born. I told him no matter what home he lived in, no matter where he ended up Jesus was always with him and lived in his heart.
I pray D never forgets out conversation. I think about him constantly and know that God has him in his arms and will deliver him from all the pain he's been through.
Wherever you are sweet D, remember your school mommy will always love you, and will always be here praying for you, wherever you are.
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