…“Look, I am making everything new.”
He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”
Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life.”
Revelation 21:5-6 (CSB)
On December 18, 2020, a 16-year-old girl entered my home. We had only met four times before this day, and she was now joining my family through kinship care in the foster system. My husband and I had entertained fostering before, but we had never taken a serious step—not until her family called us that November and asked if she could live with us.
Two days after Nicole moved in, we all packed into our van for a trip to Ohio to visit my husband’s family for Christmas. I was idealistic about the situation. I didn’t consider how terrified she probably felt. I was excited to give her the Christmas she had never had, and my husband’s family was amazing in the way they all bought her gifts and included her in the celebration. We did everything we could think of to make her feel a part of the family.
However, over the time Nicole lived with us, we realized Nicole didn’t feel a part of our family. She was a teenager who had grown up in circumstances different than ours, and she had different ideas about life than we did. So, on her 18th birthday in 2022, she decided to move out of our home and stay with relatives.
I am still grieving about her decision. This Christmas, she won’t visit Ohio with us. I will miss her childish delight about receiving gifts and how she seemed to enjoy sitting at the table with the whole family. She didn’t experience Christmas much growing up, so I believe that celebrating the holiday with us was one of the things she appreciated. And even though she only lived with us a short time, I feel a piece of the sadness the father of the prodigal son must have felt when his son left home.
What comforts me is knowing this story is not over. In December of 2020, God was making something new when Nicole entered our home, and I believe that he continues to make something new even after she has left. In the meantime, I return to him thirsty again and again, and he invites me to drink from the spring of the water of life. God is sovereign. He loves Nicole even more than I do, and I rest in this knowledge. Through his Son, he makes all things new.
This Christmas, I pray for all the children who have gone astray and all the parents who are grieving for their children. Father God, make everything new.
