Virginia

A few months ago I told you about a father of five children who had hung himself in the bathroom of their apartment. It was Angela's father. His widow and the mother of those children--Virginia--showed up at Dakota House last night after the youth group was gone and I was there by myself cleaning up.

At first she was just sort of quiet, and simply hung out in the kitchen with me. I gave her spaghetti left over from the dinner we'd had, and she accepted it silently. It wasn't until we were in my car, sitting in front of her apartment that she told me she had gotten into trouble. With a big foil platter of pasta on her lap she cried painful tears and told me that her children have all been taken from her by C.P.S. She has been using, and was in the apartment of a drug dealer when the police showed up.

This story is not a new one to me. I have seen children taken and sometimes I never lay eyes on them again. But I have also known women who have lost their children and changed their lives because of it. Virginia is the second woman I have known to tell me that she asked God for help only to within hours have them taken.

I am not a big fan of Child Protective Services. It is a government agency that sometimes places children in abusive foster homes or agencies. Sometimes they take a child when they shouldn't and don't when they should. But I also know God is bigger than C.P.S. or anything else, and He can work through anything. I have seen Him do it.

Last night Virginia just left her apartment and started walking. She said she couldn't stand the pain of missing her husband and her babies anymore and was determined to get away from it. Then she saw me in the kitchen window and her feet led her to the door of Dakota House. And Jesus had me listen to her, comfort her, and pray for her. He has His eye on Virginia, and put an option in front of her other than taking a hit of something that would kill her pain. Temporarily. As the rain hit the roof of the car, and outside the usual ghetto commotion swirled about us, she looked at me with eyes full of pain and said, "Miss Jamie, just because I am a drug-user doesn't mean I don't love my kids. I want a good life for them."

And I know she does. I remember the look on her face when I gave her a tour of the new Dakota House. "It is so beautiful," she said. "I would give anything to have a home like this for my kids."

I told her the most important thing to give is her life to Jesus.

Please pray for Virginia. There is a battle raging for her life and the lives of her children. We lost the battle for their husband and father. When he killed himself Virginia had been clean for a while and was asking the same of him. The enemy increased his forces. We must do the same by the power of Jesus. For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. Please join me in this battle we can only win on our knees.