Coming to my senses, I suddenly remembered that they must’ve driven and park their car nearby. Upon further investigation, sure enough, I found their car. I also found some of the alcohol that they left behind. After getting our foster daughter into the house I proceed to taunt to them from their car. I shouted into the woods, loud enough for them to hear, "You can come out now, it’s a long walk home!"
After a while, my little game lacked the fun. On my way back to the house, suddenly the car roared with enthusiasm as they made their escape. Holding the bottle of tequila that they left behind, I turned to chase the car. Yelling and shaking the bottle of tequila I begin to yell, "You forgot your tequila! You forgot your tequila!" Again, coming to my senses, I begin to hear the faint echo of my wife’s whispers as she said, "The neighbors are watching you!"
Through that experience we felt as if we had failed somehow. Our efforts and desire was to help foster teen girls maintain good conditions and seek improvements to their situation. Our home was considered the last stop before the Department of Corrections. Many of the girls knew this yet, maintained at-risk behaviors.
Early the next day the inevitable did occur. It was clearly a violation of the rules of probation and She was going to be relocated. Our hearts sank as she packed up her belongings to move to the juvenile youth home. That location provided more security and supervision, being that it was a lockdown facility. We maintained a connection as best we could but eventually we were only reading headlines.
One such headline that caught our attention was in the form of a phone call. Someone called to inform us that a tragic event had occurred and one of our former foster daughter’s family. (Eventually, she did return home where this tragedy had occurred.) Sparing you the details let me get to the story. I was immediately caught up in the drama and drove to the nearby hospital where she had been taken. I learned that she suffered to gunshot wounds to the head, while others in her family were severely impacted as well. Her father ended up taking his own life thinking that he had completed his dreadful act.
The bright spot in all of this tragic series of events was that Our foster daughter’s injuries did not do severe damage. In fact, she was out of the hospital within days, some incredible miracle. Unfortunately, her siblings we’re not as fortunate. One dead, others recovering from severe injuries.
A few years passed and we continued to take in foster teens. We often thought about our opportunity to foster at-risk girls and we did our best to try to keep up with happenings in her life. Eventually, however we had lost touch.
One morning, my fellow minister and I got together for breakfast. We talked about the ministry and the opportunities we have in life to be light and salt in our world. We would get together on occasion to share about our ministry experiences and offer insights and accountability. We talked about how often we plant seeds that we never know what could develop.
Often I’m reminded even today, that the problem is never the sower nor the seed. We know that the soil comes in different forms. Yet, we believe that God‘s word never returns void and his love is eternal. I believe that our role in doing foster care was to plant seeds. Through appropriate love and simple acts of kindness we were able to make a difference in the lives of others. The issues and life circumstances are always different in those that we attempt to care for. We never know just what God is up to as we remain faithful to our Calling and ministry.
As me and my friend finished our meal, as often was our practice, we prayed to uplift each other in our ministry. We argued over who would pay the check but, in this instance, I had won that fight.
As I took out my wallet and begin to handover my payment for breakfast, a voice from my past whispered to my hearing. The voice came from a young woman, "Pastor Rick, do you remember me?" Looking up, and to my surprise stood a young woman. My mind immediately connected and which I responded, "Yes! How are you doing?"
We exchanged a few words and the update was so refreshing to me as she shared with me. This was a new job for her and she was still learning but we were both happy she was scheduled today because we were able to reconnect. I cannot get over how mature she appeared. I complemented her and gave her a few updates of my own.
As we ended our conversation, much too quickly, she startled me by her next question, "May I give you a hug?" I was never more blessed because in that moment, everything that we had hoped for in her seem to be realized in that fleeting moment. I responded quickly, "Of course you can." I continued, "You will have to give me two hugs because I’ve got to take one home with me to give to Cindi."
Sometimes the Lord allows us a glimpse of what He is up to in the lives of others. I’ve often heard it said, and it has become a life quote for me, "You impress people from a distance but you impact them up close." In our efforts to care for others we want to make an impact that has eternal consequences, bringing hope and transformation in their lives. We are merely passing on the blessings that God has given to us in the form of a glorious seed that God will nurture and develop.
Our role is to be faithful and little and allow God to produce a great harvest.
