Prayers for Andrew

 

Today was a really bad day for Andrew.  He woke up wet (nothing real new there, but still...not a fun way to start the day).  Before he left for school, he got into trouble for not cracking down & getting ready.  He was dilly-dallying around & goofing off repeatedly.  (again, nothing new, but I always hate to have the kids leave the house already feeling like their day is off to a bad start!)  Then at school, the same mean kids teased him.  He's got a few little brats who tease him about being "dumb" or "stupid" because he's in special ed. classes.  This week is Red Ribbon week & each day there is a theme.  Today was sunglasses day, so the kids had something new to tease him about---they told him his sunglasses looked like girl's sunglasses.  He came home upset about all that.  Then he was really frustrated & angry about his homework.  He kept screaming at the paper through sobs, saying "this is all so stupid!", "homework is dumb!".  When I calmed him down & reminded him why we have to do school, why it's important to have a good education, he started ranting about how he didn't care if he got a job or had money to live on, how he doesn't care if his grades are bad, etc.  Once he finally calmed down & we finished his homework, he was okay until the next big blow-up.  When it was church time, we couldn't find his Royal Rangers vest.  He went into his room to look for it & when I walked in 2 minutes later, I seriously couldn't see HIM for all the stuff he was throwing up in the air (& over his shoulders to land behind him) as he tore apart the bedroom in search of his vest.  Every pair of shoes & all the blankets got ripped out of the closet, half the books from the shelf, clothes from his drawers, sheets....you name it.  I tried to calm him down, but he was just frantic.  He was so totally wigged out that it was almost as if he was posessed.  I went & called Larry to have him talk to him.  They talked for a few minutes & he did seem to get calmed down some.  They hung up & it was time to walk out the door pretty much immediately.  He layed down on the couch, facedown, and began to sob so hard that his whole body was shaking.  When I talked to him, he said he didn't want to go to "stupid church" because he was "too stupid to finish his Royal Ranger stuff" (tonight was an awards ceremony & he didn't get finished w/ this work in time to earn his patches for the ceremony)....and because he couldn't find his "stupid vest".  (Think stupid was the word of the day today?  :::grin::::)  I sent the other kids to the van & continued to try to calm Andrew.  I've seen him meltdown before, but these were more like true panic attacks, like the ones that Savannah used to have day after day.  The things he was saying about himself, the way he said it & the tone he used, I could tell this was a matter of self-esteem & not just a rageful fit...it was heartbreaking to watch & feel like I can't get inside his little head to help him see that these things are not worth the panic he was feeling.

As I drove to church, it all finally hit me.  Today was the day that G was officially sentenced & the family (Kelly's family) got to give their victim's statement.  Was Andrew's horrible day any coincidence?  No way!  Satan would love nothing more than to get to Andrew.  He's already got his claws half-sunk into this little boy & he would love to be able to claim him for his own.  Andrew's got a lot of "junk" to work through as he gets older.  He's hard a very unstable past with a lot of 'stuff' embedded in his mind & heart that he's having to break through one step at a time.  I know that Satan would love to carry on a generational curse of sin & shame, but I'll be danged if he's going to do it on my watch!  I spent the entire drive to church rebuking Satan's presence in this sweet boy.  I screamed (silently!) for him to get out of my van, out of my home & get away from this child!  I kept telling Satan "You can't have him!".  The Spirit of God is present & Satan can NOT reside where the Lord is!  I claimed every promise I could muster from memory for Andrew & asked for God to intervene & bind Satan from our home.

After he's been asleep for a while tonight, I plan to go in & pray over him again.  I think I'm going to anoint him and his doorway as well.  I will not stand & watch the Enemy carry away one of the little lambs on my watch!

Grrr.........can you hear the mama bear growl?  :)