Have you seen this?
Before the court motions, before the eviction threats, before the limo rides to TV studios, Kimberly Broffman was 6 months old, just a baby, moving into a new home.
It was February 2004, and her mother had been beaten during a home invasion. To help with healing, mother and daughter moved in with Judie and Jimmy Stottler, the mom’s parents.
The Stottlers grew close to the little girl, an only child. But as mom Melanie Broffman recuperated, they said, her history of drug use returned. The Stottlers called the authorities and demanded she leave. They took custody of Kimberly.
With her mother gone, her father a mystery and no other relatives to speak of, Kimberly’s living arrangement seemed simple. Except for this: She was breaking the law. And now her case has drawn national attention.
The Stottlers’ home, under the management of the Lakes Homeowners Association, was designated 55-and-over. Children could live there for no more than 60 days a year.
The association, which said its bylaws worked to preserve the age-restricted community, wanted Kimberly gone. But the Stottlers’ attempts to sell their house stalled. Kimberly had no place else to go.
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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The homeowners’ association is practicing the worst kind of legalism that Jesus came destroy.
The homeowners’ association is practicing the worst kind of legalism that Jesus came destroy.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by PolycarpTCOJC: New blog posting, Put the Kid on the Streets – 6 year old to be evicted from Grandparents hom – http://tinyurl.com/yg3a92f…