New Beginnings: A Restart Built on Truth

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.” Psalm 127:3

New beginnings are not about pretending the past didn’t happen.

They are about refusing to be trapped by it.

A restart is a decision.

A decision to stop repeating what we inherited.

A decision to start building what we know works.

As we step into a new year, we have an opportunity to begin again, not with fear, but with truth and courage.

Psalm 127 reminds us of something essential:

Children are not problems to be managed.

They are gifts.

Entrusted to families. Not systems.

What We Know

We know more than we did when our systems were designed.

We know that children thrive in stable, loving relationships. Not constant disruption.

We know that poverty is not neglect.

We know that surveillance does not create safety.

We know that separating families causes trauma that lasts generations.

We know that community support works better than punishment.

These are not opinions.

They are facts.

And when we know better, we are called to do better.

Birthright Is Sacred

Every child enters the world with a birthright.

The right to their family.

The right to their culture.

The right to continuity.

The right to belong.

A system that requires children to lose their birthright to survive is not a system worthy of them.

If children are truly gifts from God, then systems that routinely sever family bonds should unsettle us deeply.

Protection should not require erasure.

Safety should never demand loss.

Every parent already knows this truth.

If the system would feel unbearable if it happened to your child, that discomfort is not bias. It is wisdom. It is love recognizing what policy too often ignores.

A future worthy of our children must be anchored in birthright. Not replacement.

A Hard Question for a Christian Nation

We say we are a Christian country.

If that is true, our systems should reflect the values we claim to hold.

Christ centered His ministry on the vulnerable.

He resisted punishment when restoration was possible.

He challenged systems that harmed people in the name of order.

So we must ask ourselves honestly:

Is what we are doing to families Christ-like?

Would Jesus recognize Himself in systems that rely on surveillance, coercion, and separation?

Do our policies reflect faith or fear?

These are not political questions.

They are moral ones.

And this conversation isn’t only for policymakers or people who work inside these systems. It includes all of us.

Every time we vote.

Every time we donate.

Every time we repeat a headline without questioning it.

Every time we sit in a church pew and pray for children without asking what happens to their families.

Systems do not operate in isolation.

They are sustained by our silence, our assumptions, and our willingness to look away when harm doesn’t touch our own homes.

Leaving the Old Story Behind

For too long, we have accepted systems built on outdated beliefs:

• That certain families must be monitored to be trusted

• That punishment produces safety

• That separation is care

  
  

These ideas persist not because they work, but because they are familiar.

A true restart requires humility.

The humility to admit harm.

And the courage to build something new.

What’s Possible When Values and Systems Align

Imagine a world where:

• Families receive support before crisis

• Communities are resourced instead of watched

• Children remain connected to their people

• Help arrives without fear

• Healing replaces punishment

  
  

This is not idealism.

This is what happens when systems reflect both evidence and faith.

It is what happens when we remember that children are gifts. Not commodities, cases, or contracts.

A New Year Invitation

Every new year invites personal reflection.

We set goals for our bodies.

Our finances.

Our relationships.

Our spiritual growth.

This year, we should also reflect collectively.

What goals will we set for the systems that shape children’s lives?

What would it look like to commit to more family support and real system accountability?

What would it mean to refuse to normalize harm simply because it has always existed?

A meaningful restart doesn’t require expertise.

It starts with different questions.

Instead of asking, “How do we intervene sooner?”

We ask, “How do we support families sooner?”

Instead of asking, “How do we manage risk?”

We ask, “What do families need to be well?”

When we change the questions, we change the system.

If children are a gift from God, then protecting their birthright is not optional.

It is a moral obligation.

A Forward-Facing Promise

New beginnings require faith, but not performative faith.

They require faith expressed through action.

Through policies.

Through budgets.

Through systems that reflect what we say we believe.

This year is not about tweaking broken structures.

It is about alignment.

Alignment between truth and practice.

Between faith and policy.

Between what we claim to value and what we are willing to change.

Imagine a year where no children are carried out of their homes by strangers and more families are carried through hard seasons by their communities.

Imagine systems that no longer confuse control with care.

Imagine a future where children grow up knowing their names, their people, and their place in the world.

That is not too much to hope for.

It is simply what love looks like when it is organized.

Let this be the year our systems finally reflect what we claim to believe.