Is there redemption for the sexually traumatized child?

The other day, I watched a video of a young girl named Beth who was six years old and confessed to molesting her little brother, killing baby birds & even without batting an eye recounted details that she wanted to kill her entire family.  I couldn't believe the horrific things that I had heard coming out of this girl's mouth.  Although at the only tender age of six, she had the conscience of a psycho path murderer who would most likely go on to carry out her proclamations if she didn't get treatment.


What went wrong for this little girl?  Did she just fall out of the bad tree?  One has to wonder what kind of trauma this little one must have experienced to drive her to take her brother's head and slam it on a cement floor until her mom came in on them and had to take her little brother to the hospital to get stitches.  Later in the story it was revealed that Beth had indeed experienced horrific abuse from her biological dad before she was even two.  It was in this tender place of vulnerability that she learned to shut down her emotions and receive Hatred for those who claimed to love her.

Without any knowledge of her and her brothers past abuses, Beth's foster parents unknowingly brought her in at nineteen months old already carrying tons of baggage into her new home besides her suitcase of clothes.  It wasn't long before this couple, completely ignorant of their daughters great need for intervention, learned they were disillusioned with it all.  They knew they would have to surrender their dreams and hopes to have a couple children who they could love and nurture as their very own.  Finally, they realized they would have turn her over to someone who could help her more adequately.

Enter Nancy Thomas.  She's not your typical foster mom in common understanding; she's more of a sherman tank in her demeanor with a heart like Mother Theresa.  Nancy Thomas is a middle-aged woman who has taken in the hardest cases found in the foster care system.  They are the kids that are labeled as at the "point of no return." Nancy has a specific group of young people that she targets to rehabilitate.  Cold-blooded Killers.  Only children who have been known to have killed animals and people are invited by special placement of the State to live on her and her husband's ranch in Colorado.

Nancy has seen children like Beth before that don't know how to bond with anyone, nor do they seem to have any remains of a moral compass within them.  She isn't intimidated by the outbursts of anger and rage frequently expressed by those that she brings under her wing.  However, she doesn't mess around with a child that has a violent history; and moreover, goes to great lengths to provide security for her and her family by having alarms on the doors or the house and making tight boundaries for the abused children. Only after the child proves themselves trustworthy with the little responsibilities can they increase their spread of options.

For instance, the child will not be able to interact with animals when they first come to the farm; however, they can eventually earn the right to take care of a plant.  If they do well with the plant, then they can get a fish, if the fish survives, then they can get a bird, and so forth.  The wisdom of this is progressive rewards is enlightening to understanding how to create trust in someone who has been severely traumatized.

Nancy's work with Beth was relentless.  She never gave on her and continued to love her and support her with knowledge about Beth's history and needs coupled with a deep compassion that gave her perseverance to keep going day after day.

Thankfully, the story doesn't end there with this little girl.  After only a year and a half this child was interviewed again, but this time she spoke with a change in her countenance.  She didn't speak about her brother or her family in the same tone.  A girl who once used to punch her brother in the stomach and stick needles into his skin sobbed in sheer remorse as the psychologist recounted things she used to fantasize about doing to her family.

Is there hope for the sexually broken?  Nancy Thomas would say yes.  Help us, Lord, to see restoration in the lives of the broken, in Jesus name.