Finishing Strong

There is a book that Caleb loves.
He wanted to pack it to take to rehab with him.
I almost didn't put it in the suitcase.
My thinking was, "you've been reading this book for the past five years.  If it was helpful, maybe you wouldn't be on your way back to rehab!"  I held it in my hand.  Then turned it over and over, the well loved pages sliding across my fingers as it flipped.  I placed it on the pile, hating it because it is the only book he would pick up and read, but it was useless, in my opinion.  If there was any authority in it, he would be free!
I closed the suitcase and forgot about the book.
Then I got a letter.
It said, "As I was reading, the author shared the poem about a boy running a race that he most desperately wanted to win.  But the boy fell down, not just once, but three times.  On that third time he lay there and tears began to run down his cheeks, and then he could hear his father's voice telling him to get up and finish the race.  So he got up the third time and made it to the finish line feeling sad and like he had let his father down.  But his father tells his son "you're not a loser, you're a winner to me, and it doesn't matter how many times you fall but how many times you get back up."
Caleb finished the letter with this, "I have fallen so many times, Lindsay.  I don't want to fall anymore."
*Tears*
I understand why he likes that book.
And then, this Saturday, I got the most encouraging letter of all.  I would quote it, but I let Caleb's mom read it, and she wanted to keep it for a bit. It was that good.
Essentially it said, last Monday he was ready to leave.  He didn't care how cold it was or how far he had to walk.  He was ready to give up.  He had spent the day doing factory work and was just bitter and complaining the whole day.
Then, after dinner, they had an optional time of music.
He went, because he loves music and wanted to hear it any chance he got.
While he was in the gym for it, there was a verse on the wall: James 4:10 "Humble yourselves in the site of the Lord and He will lift you up."
Caleb said he had a breakdown.  He cried.  He was humbled.  He said, in that moment, something changed in him, and nothing has been the same since.
He said the next day he did the same work in the same factory, but he was joyful!  He said he was singing hymns and just happy to be alive. 
The letter was amazing.  It was exciting.
I know a year will be a long time to figure out for us out here, but it is worth any sacrifice to know that Christ is breaking through and healing and setting Caleb free.
Please pray that the strongholds continue to be torn down.
Praise God with me over this exciting new birth of faith inside of Caleb.
And pray with me for this yard sale on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
I am overwhelmed.
But I know what I do is not done in vain.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gifts!!