We’re Not Unicorns. We’re Christian Foster Moms.

It happened again the other day. I was reading through an article about a child who had experienced abuse and neglect. When I finished reading the article itself, I decided to skim through the comments (I know, I know– rookie mistake). And that’s when I ran into the familiar phrase– “If all the Pro-Life Christians would care as much about these kids as they do the unborn ones, we wouldn’t have these problems.”

Photo by Rebecca Tredway Photography

I have seen this same comment phrased a hundred different ways, both with and without the pro-life issue referenced. It’s always some variation of how Christians claim to care about kids, but then do nothing. If Christians are so passionate about the needy, why don’t they get involved? Christians are such hypocrites- they complain, but aren’t willing to get their hands dirty.

It’s at these moments that I kind of want to scream. I HAVE DONE WHAT YOU’RE SAYING NO ONE IS DOING. Motivated by my Christian belief that all life is sacred and with a desire to see healing in the lives of these children and their families, I have stepped into a challenging role. A role that gets very little respect and often means negative assumptions are made about me. And I’m not alone. I am not some rare unicorn of a human being. The church in America has always been involved in caring for the most vulnerable, but we are more fully waking up to the current crisis in our own backyard. WE ARE DOING SOMETHING. My little church has had many licensed foster families, families who have adopted kids internationally, domestically and through foster care, and families that have been part of the support structure foster kids so desperately need. I see this at churches all through my community. We are getting the picture. We are getting involved. We are loving these kids in big and small ways and learning how to support their families. There’s still more work for us to do and it’s my passion to keep pushing the church until we see a day where there are no more children waiting for families. If you’re a person of faith with a love for children and you’re wondering how to make a difference, how to be the hands and feet of Jesus, how to prove to a watching world that what we believe matters– it might be time to consider foster parenting.

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