A Great Need

Facts – 230 children are in foster care in our county, only 38 licensed foster families, 30 plus children waiting to be adopted in our county.

“He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” Jeremiah 22:16.

There are children in need. Children who have suffered. Children who have been abused, neglected, exposed to drugs and alcohol. Right here, right now, in your town. I want to plead their case and expose you to their need in the hopes you will show magnanimous kindness and consider blessing them with your prayers, time, love, or care. I have experienced a little bit of this world as I have been a licensed foster/adoptive parent through DSS for a year. I have many friends who have been foster and adoptive parents for much longer. I know stories of great redemption and recovery and stories of great sadness and loss. No matter what the outcome of these stories and these lives, the need is still great.

God is in the business of plucking us out of the sinful and selfish world of our flesh, redeeming our lives, and bringing us into His family. By His grace, and locally through the services of DSS, He is plucking these children out of their hurtful and scary world and giving them a chance of redemption. Once they are in the system, we are asked to step up. “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”1 Corinthians‬ ‭12:27‬ . We are the hands and feet of Christ that God uses to carry out His sovereign plans. Once these children are brought in, God prepares our hands and feet to carry these children and He pierces our hearts to love and care for them. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬.‬‬‬‬‬‬
The role of a foster parent or adoptive parent can be frustrating. But oh so rewarding. It can be heartbreaking, but stretch your heart in ways you didn’t know it could. It can sometimes seem more than you can bear, to know some of their stories. But God will provide the reminder that suffering is temporary and the children are now on a road to His glory. There are times the plan is reunification with the parents, and we pray there is true change. There are times adoption seems to be the plan, and the long process of waiting and not knowing begins. There are times when the plans change. There are times of great joy as families grow. Children are a GIFT from the Lord. It can be hard, but nothing is as hard for us as it is for those kids. As difficult as it may be, there will also be great reward and blessing. A joy getting to know these precious kids. They may live in your home temporarily but the love and the lessons are not temporary. We are asked to follow Christ. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬. Would you consider giving yourself up for a child in need? For siblings to stay together? To open your home to a child temporarily or to grow your family by bringing a child in permanently?‬‬‬

To be a part of this world of foster care and adoption, of redemption, is the closest thing to what God has done for me that I can get. I desire to continue to pour my heart out for this even if it gets broken sometimes. I pray as you read this your heart will burst wide open and be sensitive to the call to care for these children in need.

What can you do? There is an informational meeting held the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Family Services Center. In your town, contact your local Department of Social Services and they should have similar meetings and services. If you are at all interested this is a great place to start.

“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬