Have you ever been in a moment where the reality of a major life change hits you? It may be your wedding day. It may be a graduation. Maybe it is the birth of a child. It could be the moment your best friend moves away. A new job. These are moments where we realize that life is changing. Sometimes we have a say in those moments and sometimes we don’t. What if you could help change some lives forever for GOOD?
Children in foster care have a chunk of my heart. I will never forget the feelings as we sat in our first training classes. I felt an awakening, as if I was on the brink of doing something I was always made to do. When I think of how I have been wired, there is a piece of me that just beats to be an advocate for these kids. They are innocent. So often their life has been messed up and they are merely the victims. They need hope. They need open arms. They need patience, grace, and a whole lot of love.
We recently said good-bye to the little boy we were loving on. He was with us for four months. When I look back on that experience, there are parts of me that can’t believe we did it. Fostering children is hard. You are dealing with hurting little people trying to make sense of a world that doesn’t make sense. More often than not you are showing them a new world. All they’ve known to be normal…is suddenly gone and there’s new faces in the picture.
It’s hard.
Then you add in appointments, therapies, visits, and numerous other things…it’s just hard. There are several faces that come to mind when I think of our experience, and they kept my head above water.
They saw the hurt in my eyes when I said I was ok.
They told me they were coming to help with the kids for the day.
They brought meals.
They sent me songs and verses.
They hugged me just a little tighter.
They let me cry and they cheered me on.
They watched my kids.
They gave me a playset.
They opened their homes to our craziness.
They cared for a sick one while we were in a hospital with another.
They kept calling me, when I stopped returning calls.
They were angels on earth.
What is often overlooked when thinking of foster care is it takes an army. You do not have to have a child actually live in your home to play a part in helping children in foster care. There are numerous other ways to help and make a difference. I will tell you from my experience, the people who are housing hurting kids…have a hard time asking for help, but they need it.
They need your support.
They need your eyes to see and heart to hear.
They need a break and they need advocates who understand.
These precious souls I call angels on earth. I would not have survived and been able to be in the trenches without help.
Just a little before we took our last boy in, my sister and her husband took in a little foster girl. They slowly learned she was one of five and have worked to get three of her other siblings reunited under their roof. Olivia and Cody are caring for their own two biological girls and now a sibling group of four. They have six kids 6-years-old and younger in their care. They are in the trenches and truly being the hands and feet of Christ.
What was originally approved as an acceptable bedroom placement and living situation has now been deemed not acceptable. They are a young couple. Their hearts are bigger than their home.
It is their heart’s desire to keep these kids united without having to be moved yet again…until it is time for them to go home. Weeks before Christmas, they are in jeopardy of being split up again and having to move and change schools a third time this semester.
A temporary living arrangement has been approved at their home with the understanding that they will start construction process to create an addition very soon. You can help us make this possible.
We can’t all take in a foster child, much less a sibling group of four to love as our own, but we can all help support those that do. These kids are on the brink of being split up. They can’t fight for life together on their own. We are their voice.
Would you consider giving to this Go Fund Me Campaign?
Would you share this post with your community?
Some of us can do a little. Some of us can do a lot. All of us can do something, and every little bit will add up to make a difference.
To help make this fun and add a little incentive for you, I have set up a giveaway. Enter as many ways as you want/can for your chance to win these handmade goodies of mine. This prize pack is valued at $75 and will be shipped right to your doorstep when you win.
As I recall all of my angels on earth and the ways they helped us through our last foster placement, it excites me to be on the other side of the equation. Please join me and let’s be an overwhelming army of support for the Sing family. Ready… Set… Give! Share! Go!!!
When I look at our kids, I see my little super heroes. They make it easy because they like to dress up and pretend to be caped crusaders all the time. But their playtime roles are not really what I’m talking about. I’m talking about their beauty, their strength, their innocence, their creativity, their joy, and most of all their ability to love. They inspire me all the time.
I don’t know where you are at in your life with God or if mentioning Jesus makes you uncomfortable. I understand if that’s the case. There’s a lot to be confused about when it comes to faith. But one thing I can tell you, letting the thought that God has a plan for me, he has good things for me to do, and that he calls me his masterpiece take root in my heart has been life changing. When I doubt, struggle with my shortcomings, and start to believe that I am a failure, I hear that whisper in the back of my head that tells me “You are a masterpiece”. The truth that through Jesus I can be changed and made new, I need that. The hope and belief that my life is about something bigger than me, that was planned long ago, that’s thrilling. I want in on that.
So, when I think about my little super heroes and all that they face and are going to face in this world, I want this thought burned into their little hearts too. No matter what happens, no matter what someone tells them or does to them, I want them to know inside and out that they are a masterpiece. I don’t want them growing up thinking they are perfect, but I do want them to believe they are special. They were made intentionally and they have been invited into a life of hope and purpose regardless of what their circumstances may be telling them in the moment.
Another passage that provides so much clarity for us comes from 1 Corinthians 13. If you’ve been to a wedding in the last 100 years you’ve probably heard this one a few times. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
While Caleb knows and can recite most of the passage, the other kids know “Love is patient. Love is kind.” Even our foster son that has been with us for a month has this one down. When tension rises and tempers start to flare over something, someone usually breaks out in a quick reminder “Love is patient! Love is kind!” Sometimes they say it through gritted teeth and locked jaws or with a little eye roll, but they say it and move on. Other times I step in and say “why did you ______? What is Love?” They will answer and my follow up question is always “was _______being patient/kind? (whichever applies)” It gives some reference to go and parent off of.
