"The road ahead......"

I feel the title of this blog post is most appropriate - especially the "......." part. The truth is, I have no way of knowing what lies on the other side of this new journey that my family is about to embark on. I have been trying to write this post for months, but haven't been able to adequately express what is in my heart. And truthfully, God has and is continuing to weed out some specific sins in my heart and I just needed some time before starting this post. I am going to try to be as honest as I can, without airing all "dirty laundry" on a public blog! Before I write further, I just have to say how thankful I am for Jesus - for without Him, surely I would drown in my own sin.

Next Tuesday evening, and for the following 10 Tuesday evenings, Jay and I will leave Elijah Brooks behind to receive our training through DHR in order to become foster parents. We have felt called by the Lord for many years to take this step, but shamefully I say, "the time was just never right". I cringe even now reading those words, and yes, part of the sin that God is slowly breaking me of is the sin of self. When I think of all of the reasons why God surely must have made a mistake calling me to this ministry, every one of my reasons starts with "ME" or "I". I have been very convicted over the past several months that it is simply not about me. It is not about my desires, my comfort, my security, my wisdom (or lack thereof), my ability to love a child (or not), my stability, or any of the other hundred words I could fill in that blank. IT IS NOT ABOUT ME. On my own, I am 100% ill-equipped, ill-prepared, and inadequate to do this. This is huge - and so much bigger than me. Someone asked me recently, "how can you do this? Because if the Lord called me, I sure would run the other way". This person is a Christian and a dear friend, but I fear this is becoming more of a common response than not. Somewhere along the way, the Church has dropped the ball. The Church is supposed to be caring for and loving the orphan, and I don't mean just handing them money from the offering plate and sending them on their way. The word "orphan" means, "a child whose parents are dead". If a child is being neglected in the home, abused, food withheld, clothes withheld, love withheld - what is the difference that the parents are not literally dead? This neglected child has no parents. The emotional and physical scars these kids carry are deeper than I will ever understand. Unfortunately, kids in the foster care system often get overlooked. The Church has turned over our God-given duty, and privilege, to the State. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to the State for taking up the slack where the Church has failed. But, it's OUR job to take care of these children. It's OUR job, as Christian parents, to teach them about the very God of creation who took us in, fed us, clothed us, and made us His own....., when we did absolutely nothing to deserve it.

"But because of HIS great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved". Eph. 2:4

Currently, there are over 6,000 kids in foster care in the state of Alabama alone. Most of these kids are being bounced back and forth from home to home, never knowing from day to day where they are going to land next, or if they will wind up in the home of a loving family who will take care of them. Believe me, there are plenty of people in this for the wrong reasons - and it makes me sick to think about it. We MUST mobilize the Church for the sake of the children. But we can't mobilize the Church if we are only looking at pictures of these kids on websites and talking about the great need out there. I have been telling Jay for awhile that I am so weary of looking at blogs and other websites of the orphaned child and wishing there was something I could do about it, but thinking that the job belongs to someone else - someone more qualified than me, someone more educated than me, someone more spiritually prepared for the task. The bottom line is we CAN do something about it. It's time to stop talking about it, stop making excuses (like me), and to act. We can't save them all, I know that, but we can save 1 at a time. I believe the Church needs to see these children in the flesh. I am convinced that until the Church sees them in the care of the believer, hugs the child, holds them, rocks them, laughs with them, and cries with them, they will not be "real" and will continue to be just another statistic. These children are made in the image of a Holy God, and they deserve to be loved and protected. I know someone who just completed her training last week, arrived home from her last class, and her phone rang saying that a child was on the way to her home that evening. And another friend picked up an abandoned 2 day old baby from DHR because the first foster parents who were called, just decided not to show up. These kids are waiting on us...., right here in our city, and in your city.

Who are these kids in foster care?

Children from all ethnic and economic groups.

Children with backgrounds or experiences that have placed them at risk.

Brothers and sisters who need to stay together.

Teens with various degrees of mental, physical or emotional problems.

Children of all ages who cannot currently live with their birth families due to the risk of neglect, physical or sexual abuse.

For those of you reading this, wondering if I am terrified to take this step, the answer is a resounding YES. For those of you wondering if I am as excited as I am scared, the answer is YES. I think my emotions on this one are swinging as far to the right as they are to the left. But, I keep going back to the comment that my friend made saying, "how could you do this"? My response to her immediately was, "how could I not"? I know my response was from the Holy Spirit because when I look at that list of kids and their deep, deep needs, don't think for a second that I would willingly volunteer for something that I feel so ill-prepared for. And don't think that I haven't looked for a way "out" either. But I was called - and the Church was called. I cannot continue to ignore His calling.

When Christ calls, He doesn't ask us to be prepared financially, emotionally, spiritually, or physically (and believe me I am none of the above). He does however tell us to be prepared to suffer for His sake. The question(s) become, do we really trust Him to be who He says He is - and that He will fully equip us to do what He has called us to do - and will we not only trust Him, but obey Him as well......, even though it will mean great suffering?

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory". Romans 8:15

I am not writing to convict or to guilt anyone reading this. That is the Lord's work and His alone. I am simply writing to share our story of how we got to this place and bring awareness to a great need - a need that many people in the Church are not aware even exists. I am still on the journey in my own heart of fully embracing what the Lord is calling me to do, and I need prayer. I am human, frail, and sinful. I like comfort. I like security. I most certainly like to know what is around the corner. If ever there was a time in my life where God is asking me to let go and trust Him, it is now. These children could be in our care for 24 hours, a week, a month, a year, 5 years, or they could never leave our care and take our last name. We have no way of knowing what God has planned for us, yet we know the need. For us to turn a blind eye, pretending like there is not because we are scared would be wrong.

So, here we go - journeying to the unknown, trusting that God has already gone before us and prepared the way. We covet your prayers for us, and for the Church as a whole; that it would reclaim it's responsibility to take care of the orphan.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen". Eph. 3:20