Extra Grace Required
Barren but Blessed – Trusting God with the Rest
On Borrow
The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.
Psalm 24:1
From the moment I set eyes on each one of my children, they felt like “mine”. Instantly, they were welcomed into our family and treated as if they had been born of me. They were introduced to family and friends and accompanied us on family vacations. Even to this day, I sometimes forget that my children weren’t born of me.
It is a beautiful gift to be able to accept and love a child that has no relation to you. God places that ability on our heart when he calls us to be foster or adoptive parents.
When we fall in love instantly and love like there is no such thing as a broken heart, we tend to forget that these children are “on borrow”. Whether they stay with us for short or long-term, the blatant reality is they belong to our Heavenly Father.
We are reminded in Psalm 24:1 that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The world is the Lord’s and all who live in it are His as well. These precious children that come into our home belong to the Lord, just like you and I. He has entrusted them to us to care for, love and be living examples of His grace.
I have witnessed mothers standing at the foot of their child’s grave, thanking God for the time they had with their child. I’ve read blogs and articles of parents in the depths of despair thanking God for entrusting them with His priceless children.
If these parents, in the moments of their deepest hurt, can thank God for the gift of His children, can we not muster the strength to do the same in our moments of turmoil?
When your longterm placement is being moved, praise the One who allowed you to be the safe place for so long. When you hear the trauma stories behind your newest placement’s sad eyes, thank God for the opportunity to pour love into them.
At each roadblock and celebration, take a moment to remember that all things belong to the Lord. Thank God for entrusting you with his creation and embrace the reality that all children – biological, foster or adopted – are simply “on borrow” from their one true Father.
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