Touchtones

This young man I've known since 1999...In the 13 years I've known him, he spent 10 of them behind bars and I kept in touch via mail and phone calls. He came home a couple of months ago and got himself situated in a good place, a solid place (which is pretty unheard of) So I asked him to come and speak to our current students and other youth from Covenant House. He arrived with his girlfriend and 2 kids...and spoke the most heartfelt, real, no-holds-barred words I've ever heard to a group of young people who think "street life" is cool or expected or just a part of life...And at one point in his speech he began to quote scripture (YES! All those Daily Breads I sent had some effect!) and he said that "Covenant House" (namely, ME, since I'm really the only one who'd kept in touch w/ him over the years) had been a "touchstone" for him.

Touchstones...those places in life where you reach back, can count on, the solid-never-go-away places where you can glance back and know that everything "there" is ok, "this person" does love me unconditionally...

I've gone through hell and high water with this "kid" (now 31 years old!) I've visited, accepted thousands of dollars worth of collect calls, spent hundreds on stamps (well, CH has!), written letters to judges, parole, etc. all because I knew he was worth fighting for, had a chance, would somehow "make it"...

The bittersweetness of being referred to as a "touchstone" got to me today...because I HAVE been able to be there for these "kids", been a place/person where they could reach back and know, "Ok--they are still there and they love me and I'm ok"...But what about 3+ months from now? What about if "Ms. Jen" isn't there anymore? I have to trust that there are others who will fill that void...but, selfishly, I doubt that they can...These are MY relationships, the ones I've cultivated over YEARS, decades even, and who will be able to take my place?

Lots of feelings with this today...I'm sooooo thankful I was able to see this young man come and share his story, that I was still there at Covenant House to be able to be point of reference (heck--my letter to the judge probably helped in getting an earlier parole!?) but the thought of NOT being able to do that in a few months weighs heavily...

So I beseech the Lord...who/where are the other "touchstones"? How can I continue to serve these young people who count on me to be there even though I may not be in a few months?  I covet your prayers, dear readers and followers of this blog...for tonight, I have no answers...other than God is Holy,God is sovereign, and I need to trust that He will provide the answers...