From Our RHK Executive Director: Thankful Through It All

Traditionally, people think of November as the month to be thankful. In the past, I have tried to stay away from that. This year, I am going to join the majority and jump on the thankful train. But I think my angle might be a bit different.

October was a difficult month for the RHK family. When kids walk through our doors, we have high hopes. We hope we will be able to help each child see their worth and understand how they can make choices that will help change their future. We hope they will be able to break unhealthy patterns and give their lives to Jesus.

Yes, I know this is definitely a “pie in the sky” dream. But if I stop dreaming for the kids, I need to leave RHK. I can’t give up.

Our reality includes one of our young men standing trial for first-degree murder. We showed up in court so he could see that people who love him unconditionally was there for him. He would look up and give us a smile because someone was there. Someone who said they loved him and, even at his lowest point, still showed up. Someone who continued to show him love when others turned away.

He saw his actions as self-defense when a man under the influence of drugs and alcohol came around his family. The jury did not see it his way, and he was convicted.

After the verdict was read, I received a call from him. Do you know what he said? First, he thanked me. He thanked me for my husband and me showing up in the courtroom each day. Then, he reassured me that he was going to be OK because he knew God was still with him and that he had people who loved him.

I am thankful for the opportunity to get to know him personally as he grew up through RHK. I'm thankful I got to know his heart. He is now a young man who made one very bad decision. But that is not who he is.

Then, I received a message from one of our kids asking if I had heard what was going on. At that point, I hadn’t. She informed me another one of our kids had been killed by gun violence.

This happened within days of hearing the verdict in the trial. In September, at RHK Real, our annual fundraiser, I had just said how excited I was to announce we had not lost any kids in the past year. And now this. I spoke too soon. He left behind five siblings. Three of them had been at RHK the week before.

I am not going to lie. My first thought was, “I can’t do this anymore.”

Then I thought of the hundreds and hundreds of youth who have walked through the doors of RHK and the hundreds of youth who are still walking through those doors each week.

Yes, we have some VERY hard days, weeks, months, and sometimes years. But I am thankful for each and every one of them because it means we are able to do life with those who come to RHK. Life is not easy. Life gets messy. If the youth of RHK allow us to be a part of their lives, and we get hurt because we care, then I am OK with that.

I am thankful. I’m thankful because we are doing something right. The kids are trusting us. They are allowing us to be a family—in the good times and the bad times. We walk together.

I am thankful the Lord allows us to be His hands and feet to His children. I am thankful for each of you for being a part of the RHK family.

I pray each and every one of you has a blessed Thanksgiving.

Blessings,

Dee Lacny, Executive Director, Rock House Kids