Yesterday a firend of mine posted that there was a fair going on and that it was free. So I decided to take the kids since Steve had just got off work and he wasn't feeling so good. I figured he could use a couple of hours of quiet and the kids couple use a couple of hours out of the house. So we make it to where they are having the fair and we walk up. Apparently my friend had no idea that this was set up for the kids in foster care. Thankfully they let the kids go in and they got to play for a little while. The people were very kind.
When we walked in there were kids everywhere. I couldn't believe all the kids. Babies all the way up to teenagers of every size, shape, color, etc. And the foster parents ranged in age from young to old, black to white, short, to tall, etc. You get my point. The kids were so fun to watch and they were so charming. They were having a great time.
Then they went to give out the gifts that the community had been generous enough to donate. They had two bikes and a flat screen TV for the parents. It was wonderful to see the giving. Every foster child got a gift.
My heart was full to bursting by the time we left and it reminded me how selfish we can be during the holiday season. We tend to focus on what we are getting or what we are giving to those close to us, but what about to those that don't have the luxury of having people who truly care about them. What about that child who is spending Christmas with strangers, or that elderly person who has no family left. What about the homeless person under the bridge that can only hope they will get a meal or that person who thought success would bring him happiness. Do you ever stop to consider anything other than you and your family during this season that should be based solely around the greatest gift we were given....eternal life. Do we focus more on the material gifts that we are given or do we focus on loving those that Jesus would love if He were physically on Earth now?
It really opened my heart and my eyes to see these children getting to celebrate a good Christmas with children like them. Thankfully these children were able to see that there were people who really did care and that they were not forgotten. It was wonderful to see the generosity of the businesses and communities in their giving to be able to provide gifts for the children.
I know my mind is already working on a way to give to these children. Most of these children aren't there because of something they did, but the selfishness of their parents. It was more than apparent in the eyes of some of the older kids that were there. One in particular stands out to me. She was a very pretty girl. Probably around 12 or 13. She is in the Methodist Home. In other words, no one will ever adopt her. She will age out of the system and then who knows. Maybe she will go to college. Maybe she will make something of herself, but the reality is that she will probably end up on the streets for a while or maybe find some guy who might take care of her, but who knows at what price. She may end up on drugs or with a criminal career. There are so many roads that this girl could possibly take and due to being forgotten she will probably choose one that will harm her. To look into her eyes you would understand why I say this. Her eyes were hard. She had built that wall around her heart so that she couldn't be hurt anymore. To think that a young girl has already learned how to guard herself to the pain. Does she know that she has a heavenly Father that will take that pain or does she even believe that a good father can even exist? It is so sad to think, unless something changes, she will probably always have that hard look to her eyes. She will always be fighting for her place in society.
I tell you about all this not so that you will write a check to some foster agency so that these children will have a little more for Christmas. I write because these kids don't need money. These kids need people to surround them and love them. They need people to show them God's love does exist and isn't some fairy tale that they can't believe in because they dont' have that luxury. When are Christians going to put foot service to lip service. We are so quick to write a check because we can keep some distance to the problems in our community. We don't have to be soiled by them. But we forget that's exactly what Jesus did. He got down in the trenches and loved the orphaned and the widow. He loved the whore, the dirty tax collector, and the religious man whose heart turned to repentance. A man raised from the dead was a close friend and everyday hard working men were his followers. The rich man turned away from him and His own people on Earth crucified Him. And yet He died for them all so that we could give the ultimate gift to each other by telling them of God's love for them.
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