My Faith Giving Key bracelet was a birthday gift from my very compassionate daughter, a special education teacher in a middle school. She encouraged me to wear it for a while, then give it away. When I received this very thoughtful gift, I knew who deserved next. It will be a birthday gift for a sweet girl in our church who is turning thirteen years old and has gone through more emotional family stress than anyone should have to go through. Since she was about six years old, and right after her little sister was born, her mother ended up in prison due to her alcohol and drug addiction. The mother has been in and out of many prisons, rehabilitation programs and halfway homes over the years. The girl has tried to hold it together for herself and for her little sister, as she is determined not to let her mother ruin her sister's life as she has ruined hers. There have been so many promises from the mother to come clean and to be there for the girls, but they end up not coming true. The girl finally gave up on her mother and doesn't even want to see her ever again. In the meantime, the girl has given into peer pressure and experimented with some alcohol and drugs herself, but luckily realized what she was doing to herself and stopped and changed friends. The father is trying to keep a job and provide for the family as he deals with cancer treatments. In the past two years, they have lost two rental homes due to unpaid rent. They are now living with the girl's half brother and family. The new school is against any bulling or peer pressure, which the girl really appreciates. She is doing very well academically once again and has been told many times to keep her grades up because that is what is going to get her out of the life she has had to live. She is trying to keep her faith as she is living her life and attends our church forty-five minutes away when she can. Hopefully this bracelet will give her the strength and faith she needs to make it in life and be proud of who she can become.
-Carole
