If you looked up the definition of loyalty, it could be a picture of Mason front and center. Loyalty naturally leans more toward a positive line of thought, but too much of one thing isn’t a good thing, even if it is loyalty.
Mason came to us fiercely loyal to Auburn football, his middle school baseball team, his aunt and uncle, and his belief that his safety came from his own control. He ran everywhere – to be the first to arrive and not miss out on anything — and then continually asked what was next. The challenge of school and chores was a daily battle, often resulting in him threatening to run away or pounding his fist on the dining room table. His favorite shirt belonged to his old middle school. He wore it as often as he could, even with the threat of his belly button peeping out of the bottom. His favorite phrase to use when being steered towards ownership and accountability was, “You don’t know me”!
As Mason’s time at Big Oak passed by, he continued to fight for his own control and lived in the lie that no one could possibly understand him. On some days, we didn’t believe it was possible either. IT. WAS. HARD. After about two years, the exhaustion of not letting God be in control of his future, instead of Mason, finally came crashing down. It’s easy to type out that sentence you just read. But in reality, the heart to hearts, the tears, the yelling, the pounding fists, and the phone call to inform Mason that it was foster care or us, was so much more than exhaustion. He was broken… but we know that what the enemy meant for evil, God turns to good.
The same loyalty that kept Mason in a middle school shirt two sizes too small slowly started to shift, and Mason slowly… very slowly… started to let go of the control. He started to put trust in the fact that God had placed him at Big Oak Ranch, and had so much in store for his future. Mason started to see beyond the loyalty to the reality of what his past was, and to look to what his future could become.
Almost five years later, here is what we know about our Mason. While he still isn’t the biggest fan of school, he works hard and understands that the grades he makes now affect his future plans to become the greatest chef the world has ever seen. His fierce loyalty to his middle school baseball team has shifted, and he is now a goalie for the Westbrook soccer team. Mason’s chore game is pretty on-point, with a little accountability at times. (We are still writing about a teenage boy
When not at soccer practice or at home, Mason works for the cattle crew to make money to pay for his cell phone, as well as gas and insurance for his car. He volunteers at church, connecting with other teens in the area and inviting them to youth group. But most importantly, Mason went from a child who wanted only to survive here at Big Oak, to striving towards his future and understanding that he has the ability to break the cycle of his past by leaning into the love and plans that God has for him.
Tyson & Abbie Simon,
Boys’ Ranch Houseparents