I came home and got dressed and my husband and I drove downtown to the criminal courthouse, not like a typical Thursday morning.
In the courtroom, it was business as usual, a "full docket day". There was hustling, bustling, and benches full of somber faces. After some waiting, a man stood before a judge and plead guilty to two charges involving one of our precious sets of pigtails.
There was a sentencing and then the presenting of an allocution... our turn to speak.
Tuesday I began to type, but no words came. I prayed and like mana from Heaven, he provided what we needed. Words of redemption flowed from the cursor on my screen. I finished and sent it to my husband.
Today he stood tall and confident before the accused, now convicted, and read words of redemption, justice, grace.
He proclaimed what we believe in our hearts to be true and desperately pray resonates in the hearts of our girls that Christ redeems all things and all things need redemption. There is no action or soul out of the range of His redemptive power.
He captured this mans gaze and delivered this message with confidence as the leader of our family. And then it was finished.
Now comes the hard part as we beg to mean, believe, and live these words to the glory of God...
Dear James,
That September evening when two little girls showed up on our doorstep was one of the most life-changing days of our lives. They walked in that door broken, frightened, and utterly confused. The whole of last year was riddled with residual effects of their past prior to being placed in your care, but most fresh the effects of your choices. We’ve had many conversations with them about choices and how they all have an effect, good or bad. We pray desperately that every conversation frees them more from the lie that they somehow played a role in the neglect, abuse, and lack of care that they have experienced in their short, precious lives. We have tried to establish a routine at bedtime in which we read books and the Bible together before bedtime. One evening we read the story of Joseph. If you aren’t familiar, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and ended up in a foreign land in prison, but God saw Joseph. He chose to redeem Joseph’s life. He was taken under the care of the Pharaoh and ultimately given a position of royalty from which he was given the opportunity to extend grace to his brothers, the very ones who left him for dead. After the story, Isabelle said, “my old dad touched me here and I didn’t like it”. In that moment we were able to reinforce the story we had just read and what we as a family genuinely believe, that God is the great redeemer. We told her that just as Joseph’s brothers had intended evil, God worked it for good. Even though her old dad’s biggest job was to care for and protect her and her sister, God brought them to us. The effects of your choices will impact these girls for the rest of their lives. You caused pain, scars, and memories that will be with them the remainder of their lives. They will struggle physically, emotionally, sexually, relationally, and spiritually due to your actions. The hurt runs deep, but God’s redemptive work runs much deeper. Our girls walked into our home broken, frightened, confused little souls, but by God’s grace they walk in everyday whole, confident, and assured of our love for them. God is a god of redemption, which we’ve already seen at work. God is a god of justice, which we are thankful is being served here today. God is also a god of grace, which he has extended to all people and we would like to extend to you today on behalf of our family. We forgive you for the pain and scars you’ve left on our beautiful daughters. We forgive you for the pieces we’ve had to mend in your absence. We forgive you for the residual scars lurking under the surface of their hearts. We pray that you find grace and repentance in Jesus Christ and that he would redeem your story as well.
-The Lamb Family
-The Lamb Family
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