Foster Care Awareness Month

May is Foster Care Awareness month. I couldn't let this month go by without at least saying how foster care has changed my families life.
Did you know there are more than 30,000 kids right now in the state of Texas in foster care? That is 30,000 little lost souls who need love, safety and to know that Jesus loves them.  Did you know there are literally thousands of kids who will age out of foster care never having made a family connection, never having a place to call home or a place to spend holidays?!
People tell us all the time that they could not do it because their hearts would break if the kids had to leave. Our hearts did break when our first placements went to live with a grandparent but our hearts were even more broken when we saw the condition they came to our home in. If they didn't come into our home where would they have gone? Who is going to step up to the plate? We can look back and say that during the brief time God allowed us to parent them they felt safe, loved, happy and they learned Jesus loved them!

 God calls us to reach out to the orphans James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

 That is exactly what God put on mine and James' hearts. Most everyone knows we wanted to adopt for years but God really pulled at our heartstrings to care for children in our community with no where else to go even if it was temporary. Foster Care has opened our eyes and hearts to the needs of these precious ones who need a lot of love, these kids have been through things most of us can not fathom, things we can only process to be nightmares. They need sometime to listen, to wipe tears and to love UNCONDITIONALLY. 

  

It is not easy but Philippians 4:13 says  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 

He gives us the courage to face every phone call, every doctor appt, every court hearing and every piece of paperwork! He sees us through the worst of days and the best of days. 

Foster Care has bought us so many new friendships, it even blossomed the friendship that led us to a new church this year. Foster Care has taught me patience and that I can't really control it all no matter how hard I try. It's teaching me to not sweat the small things but to relax and enjoy every moment I get with my family. God used foster care to end my search of "what I want to be when I grow up" I am exactly where God wants me, I am a caregiver of all kinds! Its a role I gladly accept.

I challenge you to search your heart for some way to help foster children in your community. You don't have to take kids in your home to fulfill the need. You can volunteer, donate your time or your children's belongings they no longer need to your local CPS where they are used when kids show up with nothing! There is always a need for mentors for older foster children and prayer warriors of all kinds!

Our lives will never be the same and for that I am thankful. And sometimes, God chooses to let your foster children stay forever. That sweet newborn baby boy we bought home from the hospital last August officially becomes a Lis on July 2nd.

Psalm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families