We get a front-row seat in our work with vulnerable children and families. And so much of the change we witness is small—sometimes even unnoticeable if you aren’t paying attention.
Like this spring at our annual Father-Daughter Dance. Our Beyond Prison program hosts this dance for dads and their daughters in a correctional facility every year. One of the dads hoped his daughter, Destiny, would come. Destiny hadn’t seen her dad in a year. We provided gas cards so her mother could afford to drive her there.
The dance started. But Destiny wasn’t there. First song. Second song. Then a third. Dad grew increasingly disappointed. Doubt crept in. Maybe she didn’t want to come?
Destiny walked in, right on cue, like a princess arriving “fashionably late” to the ball.
The world seemed to stand still for Dad.
“May I have this dance?”
It’s a night they’ll remember forever.
Then there was the moment just this week when an 11-year-old boy, Angelo, saw his dad for the first time in three years.
Three years.
Angelo’s only chance to see his dad comes during our monthly Daddy Day Visits, where children get to see their parent in a facility.
But his mom couldn’t afford to bring him while his dad was in Lincoln. With Dad being moved to Omaha, Angelo’s mom could make the trip.
Angelo entered the visit, and Dad about fell over in joy and disbelief. His son looked all grown up!
But Angelo wasn’t too grown up to run into his daddy’s arms. Smiles broke out on both of their faces. And those smiles stayed—for the entire visit.
It’s too easy for you and me to take a dance or a prolonged embrace for granted. They may even seem small and insignificant to us.
However, those moments are precious and invaluable for so many of the families we serve. They are also foundational for a future filled with God’s healing and wholeness.
