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I know an amazing woman of God who speaks very proudly about her "chosen" daughter. She had given birth to all boys, but had always wanted a girl. I consider this woman an adopted grandmother. She has such a beautiful heart that I fell in love with her seconds after meeting her.
Today's Girlfriend Devotional addresses an aspect of life that I have never experienced, although in compiling my bucket list I found I had a heart for children who were never adopted.
A couple of years ago, Dr. Phil did a show on kids who had grown up in the system, had done really well for themselves (stayed off drugs, did well in school), but had never known the love of a family. The idea was to get the word out that these children are out there, and don't fit the mold of extremely troubled teens--although it might take a while for them to realize what love is.
Our women's ministries in our church is planning a slumber party and we're going to be listing the things on our bucket list. As I contemplated mine, I was rather surprised to see my hand write down in my prayer journal that I wanted to establish a home for those good kids who never got adopted and lived their whole life without a home. At the age of 18 they are unceremoniously "kicked out" of the system and are left to fend for themselves, because at that age the government declares them adults and is no longer legally responsible for them. I want to open a half-way house type thing where kids 16-18 can come and stay, learn about God, go to church with us (will be one of the requisites) and have an address that's their own from which to get a job, education, income, and a family.
Like I said this came as a complete surprise to me. And, just as my Senate job was a surprise, just as my ability to work from home, just as my learning to write webcopy and SEO--search engine optimization (I used to just look at those projects and say, I wish I could do that), I know that God will see this surprise through to completion. At this point it's still a mystery how, but He's done these other things I never expected and never asked for that were exactly what I needed.
Please share what's on your bucket list and what surprises God had brought to light for you! Oh, and read today's girlfriend devotional.
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11 years ago
4 comments:
Dar,
Thanks for posting this. I've had a similar experience 2 years ago, when I signed up to become an emergency care provider (temporary foster parent), and later on I wondered what on earth I was thinking when I signed up. What if I was not the right person to keep another child? Well, not long after that a little girl was placed in our home. Yes, it was scary at first, but as the time went by I loved every minute of it. It was very very hard for me to let her go when the time came. I think that God wanted to teach me that I can love another child, just as I love my own child.
I discovered what you described KRP when I worked in an inner city school. There were some kids I developed a bond with, just because they knew someone cared. Often is was those children who didn't have a very nice home life.
I often think about those children.
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