All Rise

Kayleen Braswell

Some people think that a foster child will never find a home that will fit them, especially with a foster child who has a disability. Foster children think that they will never find a home that makes them feel welcome, especially the ones that don't get to go back to their original home. In this story, this little girl's life turns around and now she is doing amazing things.

When Kayla walked into the courtroom, she was feeling mixed emotions. She was wondering if someone was going to jail, thinking that courtrooms were only used for people who went to jail. As she walked towards the bench, she felt very nervous and scared. When she got to the bench and sat down, the bailiff said, “All rise, the judge is coming,” so she stood up.

The judge came into the courtroom. He was a big and tall white man. He was wearing something black. Kayla thought that he was wearing a nightgown. She didn’t know what he was going to do and there were a lot of cops surrounding him, so it made her feel that something bad was going to happen. She got anxious and felt the urge to hold someone’s hands. So she turned around to look for her mother, but her mom wasn’t there.

Kayla felt sad and angry that her mom wasn’t around. Her mind was racing with inner thoughts like, “Why is she not here trying to fight for me? Is this my fault that my life is like this? What did I do wrong? I’m so sorry! What’s going on? Please don’t let me go. I want another chance, please!” She felt the urge to scream at the world, but it felt like someone tied a knot in her throat and her voice was taken. There was a voice in her head saying “I’m scared. I want to go home. Please let me go.” Kayla wanted to cry, but tried to show that she was brave and would accept anything, even though she was hurting inside.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the judge's deep voice. Deep voices have always scared her. He was saying: “On this 12th day of August, 2016, Kayla’s mother signed these papers to allow the foster parent to be Kayla’s Legal guardian. THIS IS APPROVED!” Then he stamped the paper.

Her heart started racing. She knew that someday she might find a home, but this came too quickly. She had mixed emotions. A part of her felt happy that she would finally have a stable home, a stable school, people she could trust, and new friends to play with. Yet another part felt angry because her mom had willingly given her up and didn’t give her a chance. Kayla felt neglected and abandoned by the person who said she loved her the most.

Kayla was very young so she didn’t remember, but she heard stories of her crying for her bottle. She heard stories that her mom was not in the right state of mind to take care of her kids. She heard that there were a lot of bad things going on in the home and they were going hungry.

The judge did something that he had never done before in history. He came down from his bench and started walking towards Kayla. Kayla immediately felt anxious and wondered why was the judge walking towards her. Was he going to take her away? But the Judge put his arms around Kayla and said: “A long time ago, I was in the streets. A family brought me into their home and adopted me. This adoption changed my life. It didn’t turn out so bad.”

Yes, Kayla understood what he was saying, but she felt that this would not happen to her because her life was different and it wasn’t going to turn out that way. She wasn’t ready. She felt like her life was running a marathon, but not catching up. Kayla wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her mom. Kayla  did not want to let go of the hope that she was holding on to for so long; being with her mom and having an actual family even if it wasn’t perfect. Now, she had to let go of her dream and accept what was going on.

Kayla left the courtroom with her new parents and as they drove off, Kayla looked at her new mom and said: “I can’t believe that I got adopted and I am actually going to have a home.” Her mom just smiled.

On the road, Kayla was looking outside, admiring the scenery, and listening to her music when she started to feel different. She began to accept what was going on. She felt that if she gave it a chance it might not be as bad.

However, she still had this sick feeling inside her stomach. She felt that she disowned her mom because of the choice that she had made. But Kayla learned that her choices are her choices. What she chooses is going to be on Kayla and no one else.

One day Kayla came home from school feeling sad. Her new mom noticed it and asked her what was wrong. Kayla told her that she had a bad day in school. Her mom then gave her a big hug and said three words that she will always remember.

-You are special- Special because you have four parents who love you deeply: your biological and your new ones.

-You belong- Belong because you will always be part of this family.

-You are beloved- Beloved because God chose you to be a part of this family. He knew that this family would help you find the special calling that God put in your life.

These words changed her life forever.