Often when I am speaking or coaching, I will hear people say, “Oh I could never foster. It would be too hard so let them go.” More candidly, people will sometimes confess, “I thought kids in foster care did something bad to end up there.” These are the two opposite ends of an argument encouraging a person to NOT walk into the mess on behalf of Kids in Crisis.
Do you want state prayer alerts?
First to debunk the myths: If it would be hard for you to release a child back to their biological family, think how hard actually being in foster care is for the hundreds and thousands of kids who experience this on a daily basis. For the second myth: These kids are just like your kids, but something bad or hard has happened to THEM. Take a moment and just sit with these truths. Ask the Holy Spirit to come meet you in that space to help you to begin to reframe your worldview about Kids in Crisis.
Another sentiment people share sounds like the following: “This is just not the right time for me because of _____________.” (Fill in the blank with whatever financial, personal, relational issue is front and center in your life right now.) Absolutely — your life and all the things you deal with are valid considerations. They take up your mental and emotional space. However, if you are anything like me, the most important calls that God has placed on my life rarely feel convenient.
It isn’t ever convenient to lay down our wants and desires and to put the needs of others before ourselves. It’s why Jesus had to tell us in the Bible to pick up our cross and follow Him. If it was easy, we’d all be doing it all the time.
Helping Kids in Crisis isn’t easy — but it is simple. Not all of us are called to bring kids from hard places into our homes, but every single one of us is called to do something! Your something — your simple act of obedience — may and probably will be a small step in the right direction: God’s Direction.
It may look like leveraging what brings you joy and figuring out how that “thing” might bless other people. Choose something in your gifting and ask God to bless it big time. If you love to cook for your family, double the recipe and cook for the Foster/Adoptive family down the street as well — and watch your giving bring blessings and open relationships. If you are a teacher or counselor, maybe offer up tutoring services for a child in care who needs help catching up to grade level. If you are a single person on the go and aren’t home much, consider joining a prayer team with Ignite Hope or with another child-centered, God-honoring organization, and stand in the gap for families right now. This can often be handled digitally!
I heard a pastor once say, “Some of us are called to go, and some of us are called to give.” Assess where you happen to be in this season. If you are in a season of financial blessing — perhaps God is calling you into his James 1:27 mandate by opening a door to be a significant, monetary blessing to organizations who are boots-on-the-ground for Kids in Crisis. You would be taking your success and shifting into eternal significance!
If you have more time than money, ask Holy Spirit if He may be leading you towards a volunteer or Lay-Leader position within a ministry that allows you to be a true Champion for Children. You, too, may consider giving financially at any level to support an organization that pours into families in need — supporting foster families, adoptive families, kinship care families, or abortion-vulnerable pregnant mamas. Choose carefully and look for an organization that advances the Kingdom while caring holistically for the vulnerable kids living in this space.
For everyone of you who have ever said “YES!” to mothering in the middle — knowing that the love you give is for a season and that you may not ever hear words of affirmation or confirmation in the moments you most need them — we at Ignite Hope salute you! To every Dad who is dedicated to your bonus kids who may only be there for a number of days or weeks — or sometimes much, much, longer — you are seen! You are needed. You are appreciated.
To everyone working in the space of foster care, adoption or child welfare as a whole — from social workers and counselors to directors and volunteers — your hard work and dedication are a blessing to many.
Continue to walk out your calling, because those of you who do this are truly called by God to be His hands and feet to His Children.
For any individual, family, church or organization who has a heart to support Foster families or adoptive families — Ignite Hope works preborn to permanency for any At-Risk Kid. Connect with us on FB at ihope4orphans to find out how we can help you plug into this space! There is a way for everyone to Ignite Hope for Kids in Crisis. Contact us today!
How are you acting as “champion for children?” Share your prayers and scriptures for the children of America below!
(Article by Jacqui Jackson, CEO of Ignite Hope, Ph.D. candidate, adoptive mother, and former foster child. For more information about her ministry, click here. Photo Credit: Canva)