“I will not give to God that which costs me nothing.” Really, God, that’s what you want me to speak on? I was a new Safe Families volunteer with a newborn under my care, and a friend had asked me to talk at a luncheon promoting foster care opportunities. As I prayed to prepare for speaking, these paraphrased words of King David recorded in both 2 Samuel 24:24 and 1 Chronicles 21:24 came to mind.
I’m pretty sure this “Bible reminder” came from God, mostly because this obscure Bible verse is not what I would naturally have chosen to speak about. Had I wanted to pick scriptures to support my reason for hosting children in short-term crisis, I’d have picked one of these: the Good Samaritan; Jesus’ listing of the top two commandments – “love God, love people”; the Biblical mandate to help orphans and widows; or the passage that says, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” By selecting one of these, I would be casting myself in the role of God’s obedient servant. Sort of a Christian Wonder Woman with a soft heart for kids.
Instead God reminded me of a time when King David had greatly sinned against Him. A landowner offered to give David a field and animals for the atonement offering, but David insisted on purchasing them. Apparently God wanted me to remember that on most every day I am more like David the broken sinner than the Good Samaritan.
Is temporarily caring for someone else’s child a sacrifice I can offer to God? It certainly requires a personal investment that is greater than any financial donation I’ve ever made. Waking for middle of the night feedings, helping children cope with the emotional issues of being separated from their parents, and mediating the usual squabbles of my three children plus one or two extra kids takes effort, patience, and tenderness. I find myself praying more frequently as I realize the limits of my time and energy.
Although I won’t deny that caring for extra children does “cost me something,” it has also been a great pleasure and full of unexpected benefits. In the past 14 months, we have had 7 Safe Families children in our home: a newborn boy, brothers 7 and 9, a 2 year old boy, sisters 5 months and 3, and a 1 year old boy. The first thing I enjoy about the program is getting to know the children and helping them navigate smoothly through a difficult patch of life. Though I wish I was, I am not a person who just generally loves all children, and yet, without exception, God has granted me a deep love for each sweet young person placed in my home. I was also surprised and pleased by the outpouring of direct provision for the children and families from within and outside the church. Needs for clothing, shelter, a washing machine, transportation, money, and many other big and small things were met by kindhearted people guided by a generous God. It has been my privilege to witness these huge displays of compassion. Perhaps the most surprising benefit of caring for these children has been the opportunity to share my faith. Safe Families offers biblical hospitality in the name of Jesus. Usually when I shop at the grocery store no one talks to me, but when I have a baby with a very dark complexion resting in a Baby Bjorn on my pale chest, or I’m when being trailed by 5 children, people become curious.
When I first started with Safe Families, people asked me about it, and I would launch into the details of the program. Now I like to say, “It’s kind of a ‘love God, love people’ thing.” And they always want to find out more.