Miracles do Happen!!

Today was one day's worth of what we are working so hard for!  After Jake broke his window we had to take emergency actions.  His room was completely unsafe and so was he.  We took him to another family who has a RAD child as well, and the mother is well versed in the proper care of these kids.  She was recommended by our therapist and was so great.
He was with that family for a few days while we waited for a more familiar respite family to be available for Jake.  It was so great to get the updates from the respite mothers.  Their stories of Jake's rantings and tantrums were classic.  He tried to play one person against the next and was as nasty as he could be when he realized that they could not be manipulated.
We prayed so hard that this might help him realize that his parents loved him and that he had it really good at our house.  As a rule, while kids are in treatment, only mother and father can be the givers of good things, so plain oatmeal, and peanut butter sandwiches are what they get to eat.  They have chores and have to be nice, same as at our house, but we give good food, their own clothes, with lots of love and affection.
We had to keep him safe by sending him to another family for the week because his room simply was not safe for him to be in, and we had no other room for him.  As we prayed everyday that he would become aware of how much we loved him, we also knew that it was a very big possibility that he would come back as nasty as he left.  We pleaded with the Lord that something would change, that this would be the event that could snap him out of his current slump.  He's been so nasty and miserable since Thanksgiving.  Nothing we did, no amount of affection or love would get him to be compliant and pleasant to be with.  While nasty he looks for the fight in anything, even a meal.  He would find frustration in the littlest of things.
Over the course of last week something clicked in Jake.  We got him home Sunday morning and he was so excited to see us.  We made sure that the food we gave him and the activities he was allowed to do were far better than the chores he had to do while away from us.  The difference was as little as honey and raisins in his oatmeal, burritos instead of peanut butter, and a delicious dinner.  He was surprisingly compliant all day Sunday, but we were skeptical.
Today Jake woke up with a sparkle in his eye, and a "yes, mom" coming out of his mouth!  I was weary of his happiness, but was enjoying it anyways.  To tell the truth, I began to miss him while he was gone, even though he had been so awful.  I enjoyed his willingness to clean his little sisters rooms, the bathroom, fold laundry and unload dishes.  I was really waiting for the fight, and it wasn't coming.  We even went to the doctor's office for baby brother's sicky, and Jake was able to tell me that he didn't feel good and he needed to sit on my lap to help him calm down!  This is the behavior that we have been working for for the past 5 months.  He came to me!  He needed me!  It's amazing.  There was amazing behavior after amazing behavior today.  He even got through cleaning the car and scooping the poop he ran away from two weeks ago.  It all went without a hitch.  All throughout the day he kept saying, "I feel so much better when I'm working" and "I really like my room, it calms me down, but I will never say that when I'm mad" and after completing a task, "I feel really good about myself that I accomplished that..."  I would have loved to have recorded my face as these words came out of his mouth!
The very best thing happened right before bed.  We were in cuddle time and he was smiling and I found that love coming out of his eyes and his heart.  This has only happened a handful of times in his life, and I was filled with love and peace that was so complete.  When Todd got home, he gave Jake a priesthood blessing of instruction and protection.  Jake's face was beaming, Todd then told him of how his little sisters and his parents have been praying that he wouldn't be miserable anymore, and Jake began to tear up.  It is such a sacred experience to see a child remember that his family loves him.  His face was what I have always wished it would look like.  It was filled with light and love.  He knew that we love him and he wanted it.  It was amazing.  This kind of day is what we are working so incredibly hard for.  We need this to be the norm for him.  I pray everyday that this is who he can become.  This is the boy who we need to develop.  We do hard things, we are strict, we are constant, and we love through the most nasty of behaviors all to accomplish today.  Today was a fulfillment of revelation given to us that if we remained faithful to the Lord we would see early progress for Jake.
We are so grateful to the Lord for this gift today.  We do nothing that is not first given from the Lord.  He gave us our resolve, our faith, our talents, our drive, our ability, our resources, our support system, and this miracle today.  We know because these past few days are possible, that it is possible for Jake to be healed completely.  Jake was the child he is meant to be today: happy, confident, loved, obedient, kind, humble, respectful, and hopeful.  It was beautiful!!  I will cherish this day as I have to endure this process as he learns to make it consistent and eventually permanent.  This is a day of miracles!