I have a lot of passions in life and many times they overlap each other.
James 1:27 is a big part of my heart.
When I hear from people that they could never foster or never adopt I want to say that I understand. Many times fostering and adopting are not right for an individual or family.
However, I do believe that we are all called to care for the orphans (and the widows. we cannot ignore the other part of this scripture. but for this moment we will focus on the orphans).
When my husband and I fostered we needed help with E V E R Y T H I N G. We were blessed to work for an agency that took care of those needs however there were plenty of families that supported the agency to provide our home with those needs.
Many families who foster need help with clothing, school supplies, holiday expenses, food, toiletries, bedroom decorations, furniture, etc. Simply asking what they need and not taking “nothing” for an answer will help a family. If you feel led to help a family in a way that involves finances and they don’t give specifics… because lets face it, who wants to say “Yes I need clothes for my kid!” or “Food would be a huge help!” Blessing them with a gift card that could be used on anything will give them the option of picking what they need without telling you specifics. Gift card to stores like Target or Walmart where there are many options are great. General Visa Gift cards are great too.
If giving financially is not something you feel you can do there are plenty of other ways to help. Cooking a meal, cleaning their house, doing laundry, or getting certified to do respite care (for foster kids) to give the parents a night out. Foster kids need to be left with specific people who are trained by the state.
Simply be a listening ear. There have been many nights where I just wanted to drink a cup of coffee and talk to a friend about my frustrations and I did. It helped me get through the tough moments with some of my foster kids and helped me process emotions of our adoption. A listening ear that also shows empathy, non-judgement, and doesn’t repeat what it hears is priceless to a foster/adopting mother.
Also, someone may seem that they have the finances to cover everything, someone may seem to have everything already, and some may even seem to have it all together. Assuming this makes the families feel like they have less support. So dropping off a bag of school supplies or handing them a gift card or coming over to clean even if they say no will help them in more ways they would even tell you.
My girl friends who gave me a listening ear, the family and friends who showered M with gifts when he came home, the person who nominated my children for the angel tree at my church, and the people who ask how everything is going and really listen for a response are priceless. I feel loved by those who did not take my “no, I don’t need anything” for an answer and gave their finances or time anyways.
Has someone reached out to you and helped you during a time in need, even when you said “no, im fine” ? If so, tell me about it!
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