After
recovering from the stroke (I had to fight the enemy with everything I had), I
was still faced with a problem—unemployment and no income. I refused to consider going back to that
district, did not know how we were going to survive, but I believed and stood
on God’s Word that He would supply all my needs. Financially, we did survive the situation,
but then the enemy chose to interfere with a plan that God had planted in my
heart. In the midst of gathering
information and people to accomplish this plan, the enemy struck again. This time, his fiery dart found its target
and my grandson—who had lived with me for most of his life (6 ½ years out of 8)
at that time was removed from my home by his mother who had a guardianship
terminated—based upon deceit and manipulation.
Because I loved my grandson as though he were mine, my heart was
shattered and I had difficulty focusing on anything but getting him back into
my care. The journey was difficult, but
I kept saying-out loud—that I would not be defeated and this child would return
safely. I put my words into action.
After calling everyone I
knew—agencies and individuals, attorneys and others—all of whom said,
grandparents had no rights in Michigan—I decided that something had to
change. I developed a game plan and
followed it rigorously. Part of the
game-plan involved having a “sandwich board” created with my grandson’s
picture, his story, and the error in judgment on the part of the judge. I marched in front of the court for three
months wearing the sandwich board with his picture on it, detailing the tragedy
of my grandson being taken out of my house—two-three times a week, until paying
for parking became a trial. I was able to
talk to many people who had similar problems with this judge and an attorney
stopped to tell me that more people should demonstrate against bad judges. I did not stop here.
I learned to use the Internet to
solicit empathy and to gauge how far I could get with stating the facts about
this case. Some people responded with
sad stories as well. There are still comments available on various websites
regarding this judge. During an election
year, I convinced people to “write-in” my name for judge to replace this person
who was running, unopposed. Did she know
about my activities? Absolutely! I was told that I was really ticking her off
(mildly put compared to what she actually said). Did I cease my activities? Absolutely not! I was convinced that I could do whatever it
took to change the situation. At a later
time, after my son was awarded custody of my grandson and had put him back into
my care, the judge retired when a matter came before her that involved me. I am convinced that when her clerk was told
of the circumstances surrounding the case, she realized she had made a mistake.
What did it take to be victorious? We
had “to do” something—hire an attorney, keep tabs on my grandson and events in
his mother’s home and document everything.
By the time we went to court we had accumulated a very thick file of
information. Eventually, because of
felony charges against the mother for welfare fraud, assault against a child,
and my grandson’s therapy sessions which were very revealing, we won! Confidence
kept me in the fight even though we lost some minor battles, I was confident in
our ability to bring my grandson home.
I knew people were praying for us and I kept saying what God said, “no
weapon formed against us shall prosper, I can do all things through Him who
loves me, there is nothing impossible with God…” I refused to listen to anyone
who had anything negative to say. If
they couldn’t say what I was saying, I didn’t have time to listen. Confident—that’s
who I am because God says I can be and I am all
that. That was then. Now, my
Munchkin has been “home” for almost two years.
Hallelujah!
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