Transition: Part 1

I couldn’t believe it would take persuading our older girls to experience the freedom found in making the transition by living in a house in Monjas. I thought everyone would grab hold of the idea, but instead, we saw a resistance because of fears. We needed to nudge them out of the nest. Lord, please break off the fear that has risen in these girls’ hearts. Help them to feel at peace with these changes in their lives.

We didn’t find a perfect house in our small town, but the one we found would work for the seven girls. I felt comfortable that they would live two blocks from me and be close for any emergencies. Moving day came, and the girls began to feel more relaxed with living in town instead of the country.

“Yes, girls, you can go to the tienda, but you need to let the tios (aunt and uncle) know before you leave.” I laughed at the many trips they made to the store without making a purchase, just because they could. Some of the girls took the privileges and ran with them, and others wouldn’t step out the door.

Within two weeks, the complaints began. The tios wanted to control the girls instead of allowing them some free rein. They thought that if the girls made too many bad choices, it would reflect upon them. They falsely believed that without control, their jobs could be lost. The girls resented the iron grip upon them, and signs of rebellion popped up, with disrespect from both sides.

My head spun with what needed to be done to bring balance to this newly formed family. Joanne and I had a long talk with the tios, and we told them that the girls might not always make right decisions. The girls would learn from the consequences that came with those decisions as part of their learning experience.

“When growing up did you make the right decision every time? I sure didn’t, and I learned more from my bad choices than I did from the good ones. You will not be held responsible for such decisions,” Joanne explained.

At our meeting with the girls, we challenged them by asking for one negative and one positive comment about living in Casa Magdalena. It broke my heart to see the tears and hear of the hurts residing inside them. Pride seemed to rule, and nobody can make a person forgive another, but these girls asked to be forgiven for their wrongs.

I thought we would see the tide move in a positive direction, but that did not happen, and we landed on square one again. The tios, with a locked-in mentality of controlling parents, couldn’t let go. Lord, why is this important goal so hard to pull together?

We counseled with the tios and discussed the situation with others for any source of wisdom. We came to the conclusion that we should find another couple who could be counselors for the girls. The Lord had already touched the hearts of a couple, who came to us saying they wanted to work in this position. I wanted them to repeat their words to make sure I heard correctly. The kids already loved this couple as directors and teachers at the school. We said yes, and the transition program took off with only a few adjustments. Casa Magdalena, named after Mary Magdalene in the Bible, became an important component in the plans for the older girls who reside at Shadow of His Wings Orphanage.