Seven local families received the best Christmas present of all Wednesday — a second chance.

This gift didn’t come freely or easily, though, as the graduates of the Adams County Youth Drug Court will surely tell you.

Drug court participants completed at least four 90-day sessions of drug screenings, counseling and classes under the scrutinizing eyes of Judge John Hudson.

Their reward? A clean slate.

These teens can start fresh, walk the right path and have successful lives now. Their families can reclaim their children, develop new bonds and celebrate each other.

The Adams County Youth Drug Court was the first juvenile drug court in the state. It has since been the reference point for dozens of other courts, including the Adams County Adult Drug Court led by Judge Lillie Blackmon Sanders.

Both programs do more than right a wrong and save a bit of taxpayer money we’d otherwise be spending on housing state inmates.

These programs change lives.

Christmas is a time to remember the greatest gift ever given — God’s saving grace to a fallen world.

These teens, their families and all those in similar courts have a very real example of what saving grace can be.

Good luck to you all in the New Year, we hope the second chance is all you need to get your lives back on the right track.