Family Night

I am consumed with an aching heart for a friend of mine who is in the midst of fostering. Family is redefined for she and her husband, and their two young children.

The safe and private boundary of family has been interrupted.

Father's day included the fatherless.

Family night is no longer an event for US.  US strives to be one with THEM.

Family is not a protected unit, as we would understand protection; Family has become a UNIT OF GOD extended - interrupted - stretched - strained - and redefined daily.

Conflict is inevitable.

Little children struggle with  how to share, don't they?  In a foster home, a loud battle of  children's voices wages for a mother's attention while, silently, and without tears, this mother's heart is torn in four directions.

My tears will not stop.

Children change marriage. Nine months of preparation, gifts and baby books, do not equip a husband and a wife to love one another well in the midst of parenting. Husband and wife must learn to be married all over again when the dream of their own children comes true.

Foster children happen over night. The phone rings. The request is made. The door is opened, and little feet step over the threshold. Marriage is challenged again. Will love endure?

I grind my teeth.

Where does wisdom dwell?  The eye- the mind - the heart do not invoke wisdom. Her dwelling is not with men, but with our God.  What I think is good and right,  home and family -  is not.

"Do not be wise in your own eyes." Proverbs 3:7
"I will instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths." Proverbs 4:11
"Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars." Proverbs 9:1
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Provers 9:10

"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken." Psalm 62:1-2

I am moved to pray these verses, but it is not enough to pray with words. Prayer is just as active as faith.

My stomach turns.

We will seek God for what He would have us do. The right thing is never what I think, and seldom what I want to do.

I went to bed angry. I am angry that children are abused and fatherless. The fatherless are everywhere, aren't they?  They are next door. They are across the street. They even have parents.

We must seek God to redefine family. He taught Israel. He will teach us. Family, to the Trinitarian God of the World, is not a protected UNIT. Family is to be extended, interrupted, stretched, strained and redefined daily.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:12

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