You might have heard: Lucy and I are becoming foster parents. This is both an exciting and utterly overwhelming time for us! The heartfelt support that we are receiving has been very encouraging to us. Knowing that we are in over our heads creates a certain level of anxiety. Yes, the thought “What are we getting ourselves into?!” has crossed our minds. So what lead us to this decision? We simply feel called to it. God has loved us so well, and blessed us so generously with a home and other resources, that we want to share that love, safety, and comfort with kids who need it. A few years ago we talked about how God continually challenges people to love courageously, and what that means for our marriage. We decided it means not staying in “safe places” where we feel comfortable and in control but rather opening our lives and welcoming others, taking risks, and putting ourselves in situations where God’s Love (not ours, because we don’t love well enough) can flow into the lives of others, especially those who are vulnerable or on the margins of our society. This is incredibly scary for us! But it is also a response to God’s compelling love, and we’ve learned time and again that WE will be blessed as much as anyone in this process.
So there will be quite a few changes coming into our lives! And since, as pastors, changes in our lives have an effect on our congregations too, we wanted to reach out to our communities to both inform you of what is happening. We also want to invite you to journey with us as we discover more about God’s work in the world, God’s love for us and others, God’s healing power, and God’s ability to use broken people (us) to bring safety, love, and security into the lives of children in our area.
So how can you be part of this journey? One of the concerns we have is connected to the public nature of our lives. Lucy and I both signed up for being in the spotlight, but any children that come into our lives have not. Yet by nature of being part of our family they will be thrust into a kind of spotlight that may or may not be good for them. In order to help our communities understand how to best support us and how to best welcome our future foster children, we invite you to be part of a discussion on Foster Care.
On December 4th during our Adult Forum at Alpine (9:00- 9:45AM) I will be sharing about this process and the tremendous need for foster parents in the Rockford Area. Some of the topics we will be covering are listed below, and there will be time for Q & A. A light breakfast will be served. Please join us if you’re able and thank you for your support and prayers!
- What foster families wish other people knew
- What to say and what NOT to say to foster parents & foster children
- Simple ways our church can help serve foster families here in the Rockford area
- Some things we think the bible has to say related to foster care and what we think every Christian should know
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