It’s easy to give a few dollars to a good cause or even buy a few toys for a holiday toy drive. But how much of your heart is involved in those actions? Do you really feel engaged when your gift isn’t much of a sacrifice?
One way to get involved in ministry that will involve every aspect of who you are is to become a foster parent. When you choose to go this route in your ministry, you are taking a step that will engage every part of your life and that of your family.
Why Foster?
If you are one of those people who really want to make a difference and are willing to make a major sacrifice in your life, foster parenting is something to consider. When you take in a child that has been abused or neglected, you are making a positive impact in his or her life that may transform the future.
Many people choose to foster with the goal of getting to adopt the kids someday. This is a worthy goal and will provide a stable, permanent home to kids who need it. However, you don’t have to get involved with that goal in mind. You could be the place where kids go until they find their forever home. You could even offer to provide respite care to other foster parents who need a break.
Listen to the stories of former foster children and you will see all of the reasons you need to choose this path. Sometimes, it is that one person who took them in when they had nowhere else to go that turns their lives around. Not all stories end happy and you must be prepared for that, but you can be sure that every time you take in a child, you are making a difference in their lives as well as your own.
Who Can Foster?
Anyone can become a foster parent as long as they meet the criteria for their state and get licensed. Young couples with no children, families with kids of their own, even empty-nesters and single people can become foster parents. Every child needs a safe home with someone to love him or her, and foster parents can provide that.
The challenges of being a foster parent are real. You get attached to children who leave, you deal with children who have had to endure things that no child should ever experience, and you have to overcome physical and emotional problems as a result. But the rewards of being a foster parent are unmatched by anything else you can ever do. It is not a ministry for everyone, but it is one that will encompass every part of you when you open your home and heart to a child in need. Jesus never refused any child who came to Him. How can we do less?
