Inspiration...at a baby shower! :)

Hi friends,
It was interesting to me how therapeutic blogging was, especially during those first few days... Now I'm at a point where I feel like the pressure has been released, and I'm more balanced in my inner thoughts and inner peace. Thank you everyone who has given me such wonderful and appreciated feedback. Its powerful to me to see and hear about how my words provoked such thought and even change for so many of you! It's true what 'they' say. When you help others, you are really the one to receive the benefit. Thank you all again!!

So, today's blog isn't so much as a need to get my thoughts out on the screen as it is a chance to talk about some of the things I've been thinking for quite some time. Yesterday, at a friend's baby shower, I overhead a coworker talk about adopting... It was a simple comment that many people say every day, but for me it triggered a recall of thoughts I've had over the years about adopting, or at least, fostering children.

During my second marriage, and after it ended, I felt a very strong pull to find out about becoming a foster parent. I actually attended classes and learned about the process and requirements... Ultimately, the two main roadblocks at the time were, I would have to make some expensive modifications to my home to make it 'up to code', and, someone told me, "Once you let in a foster child, you are opening up the streets to your family..." As harsh as this may be, in many ways it's true. Its one of the reasons we protect our personal identity and information working as psych nurses. We have to have boundaries that protect us and our families from the dangerous forces in this world...

but....still.... it still tugs at me... My main argument to this statement is this, My son is 10 (11 tomorrow!!). He is going to grow up in to a young man, and a wonderful adult... He will grow up alongside many children who didn't have the same nurturing and love that he received. Anyone who works with children or in psychology knows about the sometimes, devastating effects that occur in a child's development when they aren't cared for in God's intended manner. A mother responding to a crying baby, a toddler trusting his father as he takes his first step, a child learning that asking "Why?" 50 times is not going to be answered with a slap, but rather, endless (though exhausted) patience... When these milestones AREN'T met in the way God created our little brains to take in these lessons, our brain development goes awry...

Anyway, my point is that, my son is going to grow up next to children who didn't receive God's ideal upbringing... And many children are in a position to be taken in by families who could step in and provide this...or at least, some of this... Don't we owe it to our own children to step in and make a difference for them, and for their peers?

I recall watching a news story on 20/20 or something like that. It was about a small, economically challenged town in the South. The people in the story were primarily African Americans, and the preacher at the local church STRONGLY promoted taking in foster kids and orphans as a way of living out God's will. Well, guess what? Nearly EVERY family in that small town took in at least one child! It was such a beautiful story. These were families who had their own challenges. Some were trying to retire, some were trying their hardest just to make ends meet. Some had children of their own. They ALL joined together and became a community in a more beautiful way than I've ever heard... Imagine if just a fourth of the families in Rochester decided to take in at least 1 child...!! Wow! Imagine the impact we'd have on the future for these children, AND for our own!! What a beautiful example of living out true LOVE, and to pass that on to children and future generations!

It's this belief and hope in my heart that holds adoption and foster care in such deep respect in my heart. Well, the roadblocks won at the time, and as a result, I chose to work in child psych. I feel that God wants me there...at least, at this time in my life, where I can work with children who struggle, many of them in and out of foster care themselves... but someday, I WILL reach out and extend my home, my love, and my arms to the children of this world who are lacking in a warm hug, an encouraging word, or a loving smile...

Jessica M, you inspired this blog... And, the work you do as a mentor for young women in this community fills me with hope that goodness will continue to happen... Thank you!!

Dear God, thank you for inspiration... You have given us an overabundance of ways to become inspired in this world... We only have to open our eyes to see the many ways you have blessed us, and to see the many ways in which we ourselves can make a difference. Give me the strength and courage to keep making changes. And God, bless the hearts of every child out there in this great big world, who doubts, fears, struggles, cries, hurts, and has fallen. We are your servants and I trust that you have given us what we need to go out there and save these children... We only need to do it. AMEN!

Peace Friends!
~Erica