Faith Focus: Small great things
More than 400,000 children live in foster homes in the United States, including over 31,000 Texas children. Many of these children have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. They are among the most vulnerable people in our country.
Caring for a child through foster care or adoption is heroic. It requires parents to rework their schedules, lives and priorities. Parents commit fully to caring for children, always putting them first. The task is so heroic, it can seem daunting.
Maybe that’s why people often admire foster parents while quickly adding, “I could never do that.” In Christian circles, people might say, “I’m not called to foster.” In many cases, they may be right. Foster care is a great thing. It’s also not something everyone is called to do.
But that doesn’t mean we aren’t called to do something. James 1:27 says “religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress ….” God still calls us to care for vulnerable children, even if our role is supporting foster and adoptive parents.
There are many simple ways to help foster parents:
- Buy a family clothes or diapers for their foster child
- Take a foster family a meal
- Babysit for foster parents
- Become a respite care provider
- And a host of others!
Many of these suggestions don’t take much time. They’re small things. But they matter. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
Maybe you’re not called to be a foster parent. But we all can still do small things in a great way to help others care for the most vulnerable in our midst.
Deeper reflection:
- How does James 1:27 impact your life?
- How can you help care for vulnerable children?
Next steps:
- Ask a foster parent how you might support them in their ministry.
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