So this morning, my mom is returning her 6-month old foster baby to her mother, against what she thinks is best for the baby. This is the second baby in a row that my mom has had, out of about a dozen over the past few years, who is returning to his or her parents, even though there is not a guarantee that the child will be safe in that placement. This morning, I spoke with my sister, Melissa, who was in tears about the baby leaving, and I prayed with her that God would protect the baby and that mom and Melissa would be able to give her up to the Lord's care. It broke my heart, and prompted me to send out a call to pray for all foster children, including the ones that Mashel and Allen have currently in their home.
A few weeks ago, Jeremy and I attended a Youth For Christ dinner for their foster care program and heard an amazing speaker, who reminded us all that, "If God is the Father to the fatherless, then who is the Mother? The Church is the bride of Christ, which means the Church should be the mother to the motherless" (Not a direct quote, but my paraphrasing). This statement has stayed with me for these past few weeks more than anything else he said. Christians are supposed to be the mother to the orphans. Now, I'm not trying to get everyone out there to be foster moms . . . I'm not a foster mom . . . but I do think that we can all do something to help foster children. We need to lift them all up in prayer. I have always sympathized with my mom when she has had to return a baby to the biological parents or given it to an adoptive home, but, now that I have Clara, I empathize with her even more. Many foster moms receive their babies from day one and love and care for them as their own child, and then return them to their bio moms who may or may not be what we would consider "fit" to raise them. Which brings up another prayer: pray for those biological moms. God has a plan for every child, and He knows what He is doing. Maybe some of those foster kids are bringing their biological families to a relationship with Christ.
Anyway, this is just a call for prayer for Mashel and Allen's twins, as well as my mom's baby, who will remain nameless to protect her privacy. And, as an encouragement to my mom today, I'm including a verse and quote from my devotions this morning. The devotion was written based on the song, "Trading my sorrows" with today's verse being: "Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds" (Hosea 6:1) A part of that familiar song, "I am pressed by not crushed, persecuted not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed . . His joy's gonna be my strength. Though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning."
I love you, mom. Hang in there!
2 comments:
Thanks Laura, that means a lot. Your mom, Melissa and the baby are all in our prayers. It is such a scary thing to think about the fact that that could be us, but I just have to trust that the Lord will protect these babies and only He knows what is truly best for them. Thanks for the encouraging words, it means a lot to have your encouragement and prayers.
Well hello there! I apologize for my sister and her lack of getting on line, but she does check her gmail account often, marykate26@gmail.com...send her a note next time I talk to her I'll let her know that you are attempting to get a hold of her! CUTE family!
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