How true Scot, how true. My wife worked in several nursing homes as an educator training the nursing staff as well as teaching geriatric nursing at some of the local community colleges around here. It is so sad to see how many lonely and abandoned people there are in retirement and nursing homes. Since retiring she is the sole care support for a shut in elderly lady in her nineties who has no family to care for her or look forward to seeing. My wife is very quiet and doesn’t say much about her faith, but her ministry amongst the aged must bring a smile to our Lord. As a part-time hospital chaplain she also serves in the urgent care floor of our local hospital giving prayer and support to any who want love. Frankly, she puts me to shame.
Rich

This issue always makes me think of that old yarn about the starfish… the guy who saw hundreds and hundreds washed up on the beach.. they were all struggling to stay alive… he was trying to throw them back in but couldn’t get to them all… was so saddened that he wasn’t making a dent. ‘What I’m doing doesn’t matter!’ The reply? ‘It matters to THAT one. And THAT one’ referring, of course, to the ones already rescued.
My husband and I, before we were married, had decided that we would adopt first and consider perhaps having biological kids later, if at all. I’m an adopted kid, and grew up with a very strong sense of being desperately wanted and sought after. (I’m forever grateful to my folks for the way they helped shaped my identity in that manner). So as I became more aware of verses like this one in the scriptures, I couldn’t help but think of the thousands of kids in our own country – in the foster care system – who had had the exact opposite experience of mine – only knowing abandonment and temporary placement, temporary shelter, and aging out of an over-taxed system at age 18. So we began our parenting journey with a confused almost-3-year-old [who just turned 10 and is brilliant!], and a year later we adopted an infant who, because of circumstance of conception, mom’s situation, and, frankly, race and location, was classified as ‘difficult to place’. He is 6, and is one of the brightest and most clever chaps I’ve ever known. We then did indeed have 2 biological kids, but aren’t convinced that we won’t one day provide foster care-to-adopt for an older child/sibling group.
Go to http://www.adoptuskids.org and read the autobiographies these older children write: ‘I simply want a family so that when i can go to college, and have someplace to come home to on breaks’…. it will break your heart. And compel you to action.
My husband and I committed to proclaiming from the rooftops about this program [www.adoptuskids.org] and often say that if the church actually stepped up and took part in this Biblical mandate, the stress on the foster care system would be alleviated to actually provide the transitional care that it is intended to provide.
These adoptions, by the way, are cost-free, and our sons receive a stipend from the state until age 18, and health insurance if needed.
There is so much more that we can do. But I know that the Lord has blessed us with two awesome sons, and that what we’ve been privileged to do certainly matters to that one. And that one.

“hosanna!” and “crucify him!” are still echoing in our family room where our house church gathered palm sunday morn. the juxtaposed rip-tide of those two exclamations remind of the most injudicious utterance in the history of speech, when a jubilant party turned nasty and wanted blood. it seems our speech can turn on the proverbial dime just as easily.
our house church, the stonebridge community, was deeply impacted by the advent conspiracy video last autumn.
we formed a friendship with a latino congregation near us. in the winter we bought about fifteen children’s coats for them as well as beginning to collect non-perishable food items which we drop off for their food pantry. and we began supporting the job-training program at a ministry focused on the homeless in nashville.
we”re also helping a sixty year old woman widowed by divorce who is recovering from stem cell transplant treatment for leukemia, and who has recently lost her job.
and we let the kids in our house church take the lead in a toys-for-tots shopping spree. the joy and excitement were contagious.
the important thing the advent conspiracy video did for us is that it moved acts of service, mercy and kindness out of a “works” category into the realm of imagination. now we’re intentionally inviting the holy spirit to move in our imaginations (not just our consciences) to know where to give and serve.
holy week shalom~

wow…thanks for this moment…i am already working to form a non profit that will offer services to children and their families that are in foster care, orphaned, neglected, abused, abandoned and their families. i want to develop an 18 month to 2 year program that will transition families and older children into mainstream life. i don’t believe 90, 30 or 60 day programs work…lives have to be rebuilt after trama and be allowed to heal and to rehabilitate.
as i opened my trailer on foster care…i was just thinking that maybe trying to help all isn’t the way to go, maybe i’ll just find a niche (older children maxing out in foster care, helping them in the transition), but after reading this – beginning earlier in an affected child/and or their family/caregiver is a better way to help those maxing out of foster care…it will better prepare them for the world.
i hope that it is possible that an 8 year old in foster care will remain connected to the program at some level throughout their cycle in foster care…no one that has experienced a life trama should ever be without the services that help to make them whole.
thank you God for guiding me to this article…i almost went by it!