We have enjoyed witnessing the joy and wonder that has overwhelmed our girls as they experience this Christmas season, many of them for the first time. At Courage House, they have the chance to make new memories and to enjoy a holiday season without the challenges that they may have experienced in the past.
They decorated the tree so beautifully and worked for hours on their gingerbread houses. As we hear them laugh and play games or talk about what they have learned in school, we hear the hope returning to their hearts. When they do fun holiday activities and suddenly announce that this will be a family tradition for them, we hear them engage in the process of believing in their futures. We believe in their futures, and now so do they!
This Christmas season has been a beautiful one here. We have faithful volunteers, staff and supporters that love and believe in their futures with us. We are united by a common belief. I hope every Christmas tree Courage House ever will be filled with ornaments announcing the amazing days of victory that the girls are experiencing. We would see ornaments that shout, “I am going to college!” or “I’ve celebrated another month at Courage House!” These ornaments, these precious moments, are sometimes celebrated and sometimes they’re invisible. These ornaments would overwhelm the tree!
The girls are what make this season beautiful and unique. The girls themselves are the testimony of why Courage House is so powerful. Courage House is no longer just a dream or an idea. Courage House is a reality. This reality is felt and seen by our girls. They have embraced it. We see this in their speech when they talk about where they believe their future is going; we see this in their writings. They fight for their destinies with all that they have. They do not give up. Being able to say, “I have a home,” and “I have a destiny,” is a far different cry than saying, “I was homeless,” and “I was invisible.” The Courage Girls are declaring for themselves that they are changed and that they will change lives. Our girls are world changers and that is what we celebrate this Christmas, too.