That Fateful Day

Has is really been 14 years??! Today marks a day when my life changed! It’s interesting how something grieving like being taken away from your parents, can in retrospect be seen as a good thing! I suppose like everything…give it time and look for the good.

Life was actually great at the time. We lived in a large, rustic country house not too far from downtown Melbourne. I had a class of maybe 8 and a wonderful teacher/shep, Mary of Stephen. Remember her? Such a love!

Life was good; about the only thing you could get me in a knot about was 6:30 reveille in winter! It was after a regular Home activity night we settled in for the night…and a short night it was. The first thing I awoke to see that morning of the 15^th was a stream of social workers and police traipsing through our lounge room come bedroom. (We just happen to be camping out on the floor as bunks were being built at the time. We had only just moved) …..mustn’t have looked good. I remember the social workers had a chillingly pasty smile on their faces. I almost immediately jumped up and ran to mum and dads room just adjacent. I was called after by a cop, when I ignored him I was roughly grabbed and thrown down. To which Dad and the cop had an angry exchange.

The rest of the morning went in slow motion. We individually filled out identity questioners, meanwhile the parents were rounded up(so I heard) and given the charges against them, simultaneously we were told we were going with them for “the day” just to answer some questions…..sure, anything to get us into the vans voluntarily! Well, to make a long story short, we spent the day at some headquarters, watching videos……. and being strip searched.

At around 6 in the evening they decide we can go to court now, a cranky magistrate yelled at us for wasting his time (I couldn’t believe it, like it was all part of our plan!) Turns out he signed the warrant and was put off the case.

By night we were divided into families and shipped off to temporary foster home. Cunningly they planned the raid for a Friday so we would have to spend the weekend with them before we could go to court. Plenty of time to pick our brains.

6 days in State custody, being told that we will never see our parents again, being thrown in a foreign environment and told to “adjust” is a nightmare for most children, and I don’t even want to think about what it put our parents through….if it were me and my kids being taken away, it would seriously be “over my dead body”. I try not to think about it.

But those precious moments together at the court house are seared in my mind as some of the most beautiful moments. The trying of our faith solidified many things in my young heart…...and our day of release on the 21st was more so victorious, I can’t describe! What comes to my mind is “The darkest hour is just before dawn!” It really was my darkest hour….I wasn’t “strong”, I broke up under interrogation, I wished I had been more sensitive to what my little brother and sister must’ve felt…I am no shining example but it’s these things that make you strong…..and Family life only got better too. Witnessing became awesome! Everybody knew us and I can’t remember a negative response, we were the proof that outshone the lies! When people found out we were the “Children of the Children of God” they wanted to shake our hand. Celebrity status overnight!

It still makes me angry that Government organizations have the power to walk in like that even now (though our case did set some precedents so it dosn't happen to others)….and there are others who do nothing but antagonize the way we, fully grown adults (I might add), choose to carry out our lives or insinuate what our children’s “best interests” are. I was angry for a long time but nowI can truly say "All things work together for good....."

A memorable day that was. On the 21^st have a drink with me!