Sad

In my job, I come across terrible neglect and abuse cases. Sometimes on a daily basis. The girls that come into my care, usually come with a huge stack of intake papers that tell snapshots of their story. None of their stories are pretty. Some of them make me sick. On Monday, we got a new little girl with the worst story I have read..

People often talk of being pro life, which I am passionate about, but it seems that the discussion ends there. You see a picture of  a fetus, proving it is a real baby and is deserving of life, but in my opinion, just giving a child life is not enough. If someone is going to give their child life, what gives someone the right to ruin that child's life before they even take their very first breath? Why don't we ever see pictures of the children, and later the adults, they grow up to be?

Tell me, do these children ask for their mother to drink alcohol and do cocaine during her pregnancy, so that their physical growth and looks are stunted forever? Absolutely not. Does a child ask to be fed rat poisoning in her bottle as a baby, which did not kill them, but was just enough to kill many of their brain cells? Did they ask to be mistreated by the men in their life, so that they are never able to enjoy the intimacy God designed to be in a marriage relationship? Does a child ask to be left alone in a playpen for days on end, so that now they have trouble accepting care from those that truly want to give it? The answer to every one of those questions is no. And it makes me feel sad that these mother's dictate the future their child will have, because these mother's chose to make selfish choices.

Most of the time I read the paperwork once, so that I know what needs to be worked on, but I let it go at that. I treat these girls as I would any other girl, and make as much progress as I can while they are in my care. Thankfully, most of them have been in therapy for years before coming to me, and we are truly just working on a plan for their futures. Most of the girls that I see have been adopted by loving families who want the very best for them. But sometimes, every once in a while, I can't forget about what I have read. It keeps me awake at night and it makes my stomach hurt. And sometimes, I feel sad and just need to vent.