Lost to found
My life journey to today By Gene Twedt
Abandoned, unloved, hopeless. Is there anyone to love me? Is there good in this world? If there is, do I deserve it? Did I do something to deserve this pain? For the first six years of my life, I had to face these questions in many different situations. Shortly after I was born, for whatever reason, I was placed in a foster home in Tampa, Florida. For the time there that I spent with my two brothers, I quickly figured out that this world is full of hurt and injustice. On many occasions my brothers and I would be severely punished for the littlest things. After a short time, the person who was taking care of us passed away so we had to be transferred to a foster home in Miami, Florida. I can’t exactly remember what I was thinking but it was along the lines of hope for a better place. The foster home, where I would stay for the next three years, was worse than I could have imagined. These were the years of my childhood where something in my mind told me that this wasn’t right. Why was I sad all the time? How come everyone hated me? I started developing habits early on in my childhood that I still wrestle with today, lying being my biggest struggle. I would often lie to get out of or in less trouble. Life continued as every day brought the same struggles and loneliness. I went through the motions so much that I started believing that it was normal. This is all life was. But God had different plans for me. I started to realize those plans when my brothers and I
got a call telling us that we were going to be permanently moved into a real family. Was this family any different? Can I trust them? Can they trust me? On July 2, 2000 Roger and Amy Twedt drove into the driveway to pick us up. And for the first time in my life I felt love. A love for who I was. They were different, it seemed. They lived life like they knew what they were doing. They had a purpose. It was almost like love was overflowing from them and at times I didn’t even know how to handle it. It didn’t take long for me to find the source of their love. My mom and dad knew God, they served God and God gave them purpose and meaning. I wanted that too. A Person who would never abandon me, He would always love me, a Person who would give me hope and future, a Person to show me the good in this world and pursue it, and most importantly, a Friend who would forgive me when I stumble and help me back up. An everlasting Dad. Boom. It’s been twelve years since I was adopted from Miami and it’s hard to believe how far I’ve come. It’s amazing to see all that God has done for me. Has the last twelve years been easy? Not at all, but I live each day with the knowledge that God loves me and I am to serve Him and others. I always joke with my family saying “from the ghetto of Miami to the Hillcrest Lutheran Academy”, but I guess you could say that the joke just proves that God can use the least of us to paint a beautiful picture of His love. Page 7