The Best and Most Beautiful Choice

Millie has always felt like the choice nobody wanted. At 13 years old, she has often compared her life to a game in which two captains are selecting players. With each name called, the numbers dwindle around her until she’s on someone’s team by default. She’s never felt like someone’s first choice.

That is until YOU stepped in and showed her that she is valued and deeply loved!

At just one year old, Millie was placed in foster care. Her biological family struggled with addiction issues that made it unsafe for her to live at home. Despite efforts to get clean, the courts terminated parental rights, leaving her foster family open to the option to adopt Millie. While her foster family loved and cared for Millie, they soon became pregnant and decided they could not adopt Millie, too. You can imagine it was hard for a three-year-old to understand why she was being forced to leave the only home she’d ever known!

When Millie was later adopted by Sara and Dennis, they assured her that she was home forever. They have guided her, prayed with her, supported her, and worked hard to offer her a safe, loving family for ten years. Still, Millie struggled with feelings of abandonment and resentment stemming from being placed in foster care as a young child. She was chronically stuck in fight or flight mode, and consistently irritable and angry, leading to a very scary boiling point. Mille stole her parents’ car to run away and even attempted to take her own life.

Desperate for help, Sara and Dennis were referred to Thornwell’s A.R.C. residential program – a program dedicated to supporting adoptive children and their families to deal with the long-term impacts of early instances of neglect. Thanks to YOUR incredible generosity, Millie and her parents have a full spectrum of services dedicated to long-term healing.

For the next several months, Millie will live on Thornwell’s campus where she will be nurtured and guided by supportive therapists and her cottage’s teaching parents. Since her arrival on Thornwell’s campus, Millie has already made significant strides in her healing process.  She’s developed trusting relationships with her teaching parents and children on Thornwell’s campus.

Every day she’s discovering that she’s valued, loved, and forever the first choice of her parents, Sara and Dennis. She takes part in telehealth therapy sessions with her parents and has begun to understand that she is loved and wanted. Her parents are motivated and engaged during their family therapy so they have the tools that will help Millie thrive when she is back home.

Friends, when you gave, you said to Millie, “your community cares about you.” Your prayers and financial support is allowing healing where there once was hopelessness.

Thank you for helping families build strong, thriving relationships where children like Millie know they belong!