Literally this past week I was having lunch in our cafeteria and I was with one of board members and a couple of my co-workers. I like having lunch in the cafeteria, even if it’s a business lunch, just to get the energy of the cafeteria at Mercy Home. And as we were having our meeting, one of our young men, he’s been with us for seven years. His name is Quinn. And he’s getting ready to leave us now. When he came to us, he was really a broken child, in many ways. His mother, in prison. His father, a drug dealer. He had been neglected and had experienced abuse. He was far behind in education. He truly had terrible self esteem. You could see it in both his posture and in his communication, with his eyes.

Seven years is a long time to be at Mercy Home for boys and girls. But as Quinn gets ready to leave us, he leaves us a very different person. A good education, confident, able to express what he wants in life. Grateful. As he was standing there during this business meeting I was having, you could tell he was interested in what was going on. So I said, “Come, sit with us.” I wanted him to listen to the work of the home, as it were. And I was so proud and I was reflecting on that luncheon. As I reflected on it later this week I thought, what were the components that made the difference in this young man’s life? Well, he himself, his willingness to work, to go to school. God’s grace for sure, god’s grace in and through his life. And then I thought about my co-workers. My co-workers dedication and real love for this young man. You know, there are components in life that make a difference for all of us. One of them is to love creatively. And boy, our co-workers know how to love our kids.

Secondly, is to stay close to our relationships, our friends in life. And our co-workers stay close to one another so that they can help the kids, as they too experience the trauma of our kids and bring hope and healing to them. Another component that I was reflecting on as well, is have meaningful work in life. And certainly, my co-workers here, at Mercy Home, work is meaningful. They help change the lives of kids. Giving them hope and a future. And lastly, to rest in life. To understand, to take time and to reflect on the work that we do. How it is that we love, how it is that we stay in relationship. Jesus says is the gospel today, people will know you’re my disciples by the way you love one another. I certainly see that here, each and every day here, at Mercy Home For Boys and Girls.