Crazy Blessed!

Disclaimer: For a Tuesday's Unwrapped, I'm thinkin' this feels a little heavy. For more, (perhaps not so heavy) you can visit Emily's blog by clicking here. :)

Last night Clint and I finished the fifth out of nine PRIDE training classes we need to become licensed foster parents.

Many of you know the journey we've been on and yes our hearts are still ready and open to bring home the three kids who have already changed our lives, but if that door closes, we are moving in the direction of becoming foster parents here. We need the classes either way, to adopt the three or to be foster parents so four weeks to go!

These classes have really been eye opening and have helped us get a glimpse behind the eyes of birth parents and their children. It has also made me incredibly thankful for my family heritage.

I have been blessed, crazy blessed!

A child entering the foster care system may in one day lose everything familiar to him. Imagine being pulled from your home, taken to a local office where you wait sometimes hours for a foster family to be found. It is not uncommon for there to be no foster families available in that child's county and so in one day he could lose his parent(s), his home, his school, his friends down the street. In that moment, everything changes. The familiar is gone.

No matter how bad it had been at home, it was still his home. His family.

I can't imagine. And so today, I am thanking God for allowing me the privilege of growing up in a safe, loving, and secure home. A family who has always loved me, supported me, and most importantly introduced me to Jesus Christ. A privilege, I know I've taken for granted at times because it's what I've always known. Safe, loving, secure.

And yet there are SO many, hundreds of thousands of children across the United States who only dream of growing up in such a home. Hard concept for me to fully grasp.

As I think about being a foster mama, I am inspired by and take great comfort in these verses.

"Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness.... The Lord will guide you continually giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes. Isaiah 58:10 - 12

There are hurting kids, hurting families all over the U.S. - in your community. We as the body of Christ have the opportunity to be Jesus (in a very practical way) to those in need.

Could God be calling you to be a foster parent?