Present Day Pressures

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my kids. Okay, that’s NOT unusual for me! What is unusual is that right now we have kids at all points in the ‘growing up’ process.
Chase, our oldest, just graduated from college in December, is job hunting while working for Jeff during the day and working at night as a personal trainer (all 3% body fat of him!). Caleb is in a time of transition in his sophomore year of college-sort of a desert time as he seeks God’s will for his life and ministry. Cara just finished her first semester of college and is getting ready to go back early for Rush. She has a new sense of independence, but is still such a help and as she puts it is “the mother when your not around, Mom”. Connor is in the height of adolescence. Literally, he’s 14 and seems to grow every day. He is learning so much about himself and about the Lord. He hates injustice (especially the way the girls his age treat each other! HA) And then, of course, we have a Kindergartner. Serenity is just beginning the official learning process! We have had a very difficult few weeks dealing with her ADHD, her medication and just the overall situation. Add an active 13-month- old to the mix, and WOW, what can I say!
All that said, I was thinking today about the 1100 children that come in and out of foster care in our county in any given year. How does it feel for them to try to work through difficult circumstances or decisions without support? How hard it must be to be left on your own as you meet the various milestones in your life. How discouraging and hopeless it must feel to be moved from home to home when your behavior doesn’t measure up, only to start again with a new set of parents and and a new set of rules. How devastating to have the lack of unconditional love and commitment follow you wherever you go.
I’ve struggled with these things, because fostering hurt children is not an easy task. I think the physical aspect of fostering babies and toddlers is much easier than the emotional and spiritual warfare involved in fostering older children and teens. This is not a problem easily solved. There is no magic pill. One thing that does seem to make sense to me is for a huge volume of foster and adoptive parents to answer God’s call to care for the fatherless. Quality AND quantity.  That would mean when DHS has to place or move a child, they would have REAL choices.
Pray with me that this will be the year that MANY people both in our county, all over our state, and all over the country answer the CALL; that God will use each of us with our individual talents, gifts and dreams to make a difference in the lives of children….one precious child at a time.