I first met the boy after he attempted suicide by swallowing toilet bowl cleaner. The chemicals had severely damaged his vocal chords, so he could barely speak in a whisper. We talked about his home situation and ways to cope with the problems. I considered starting the process of removing him from the home, but decided to give the family another chance. The father and stepmother seemed genuinely shocked by the boy's actions and promised to provide a more stable home life for him. When the boy was released from the hospital I prayed that life would be a litter easier for him. But, things went downhill again...

The boy found out that his real mother was alive and living in California. Somehow he managed to hitchhike the whole distance from Chicago to Los Angeles. Along the way he was involved in a couple of thefts, he attacked and abused, and he did some sorry things to get enough money for food. He found his mother and her husband, but was completely unable to live with them. He became involved in drugs and street life and his mother feared that he was heading for an early death. Working with the little boy's real father, she returned him to Chicago and had him recommitted.

When I saw the boy for the second time, I was amazed at the change in him. He had turned into a hardened, immoral street person. He had no use for me, cursed me, and threatened me. I stayed on the case and tried to soften his hard shell. As weeks went by, I felt we were making some progress. The boy's aunt had a good home, it turned out, and we learned that she would consider letting the boy live with her on a trial basis. The boy seemed eager to try living with his aunt. Christmas was a few weeks away, and we began planning for him to take an overnight pass to spend Christmas Eve with his aunt. I gave the boy certain behavioral guidelines to follow as a condition of his release.

Then, in early December, he blew it. He had an unexpected chance to get out of a locked door and he immediately jumped. The highway patrol picked him up near Davenport, Iowa, trying to find a ride to California. Back to the hospital he came. This time we locked the door of his room. The boy did everything but spit on me when I visited him the week before Christmas.

"I suppose you're never gonna let me out of this hole now!", he screamed. I waited until the next day, when the abuse and foul language subsided, then asked the boy, "Do you still want to go to your aunt's for Christmas Eve?" "You know I do. Why even ask the question?" he shot back. "I'm going to release you for an overnight pass, just as we had planned," I said. The boy was absolutely silent. He could see I was serious, and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was afraid to shout back some kind of abuse, fearing that I might withdraw the offer. "You'll release me?", he finally said in a small voice. "Yes", I replied. "What do I have to do?" "Nothing. I think you can get through all this trouble", I told him honestly. "I really believe in you. And to show you how much I believe in you, I'm going to give you this Christmas release with no strings attached. It's yours, no matter what you did, and no matter what you do between now and next Tuesday. It's unconditional." That concept was so awesome that the boy had to sit back and think about it for a long time. It was the first time in his life that an adult had given him unconditional respect.

I'm happy to report that the boy responded well. I continued to work with him, and he was able to live with the aunt. The aunt was a religious person, and the last time I heard from the boy he was talking about going to Bible College. As he came to know Jesus, he saw that the Christmas release was really an example of the kind of unconditional love that Christ expects us to show others. I can never emphasize enough the unfailing love of Christ or His command to love others in the same way.