By: Erin Austin
Life at Joy Ranch isn’t all hard. In fact, I would say the good far outweighs the bad. We’ve learned to celebrate, laugh, and find joy in in simple things that many would bypass, but it’s in those little victories that healing happens.
“We learned that our children, above everything else, wanted at least one adult they could totally trust, who would understand their hearts and would care. They wanted someone who would be proud of them when they made a good grade at school. They longed for a compliment on a model car they had glued together or a doll dress they had made. They could be happy without what some may call the necessities of life, but there could be no contentment in their young spirits without someone to share their joy when they succeeded. So, in spite of a busy schedule, we always took time to show our happiness over even the smallest accomplishment. It created goals for them and made ‘life worth living after all.'”
Something I’ve learned is God placed within each of us a desire to be noticed. We all want to be seen, wanted, and enjoyed simply by being ourselves. Most of these kids never had that before coming to Joy Ranch. To have someone put their phone down, look them in the eye, and listen to whatever story and part of their day they want to share at the moment is huge because it’s something that never used to happen. They start to learn that they genuinely matter, and through each of these encounters, we start to see their unique personalities emerge. Where one child has a quiet, witty sense of humor, another has the ability to leave the room in stitches. Each are different, but all are fearfully and wonderfully made. We have country boys who want to stay outside all day, performers who love to make people smile, girly girls who love to dress up, and athletes who love sports. Every child is different and we love to watch their personalities emerge and develop into who God created them to be.
Yes, there are moments of sadness and times we sit with them and allow them to be angry and grieve, but more than that, there is joy and laughter.
“Laughter is the most beneficial therapy God ever granted humanity.” ~Chuck Swindoll
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