“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.” Isaiah 43:2a
When a family steps out in faith and opens their home to foster care or adoption, they need to know they are not walking the journey alone! Family Advocacy Ministries, or FAMs, provide community, encouragement, and emotional and spiritual support for families when they need it the most. Stepping into foster care can feel like jumping into the rapids with a child who’s navigating waves of grief and uncertainty. A Christ-centered community offers hope amid the hard things and reminds families that God walks with them through difficult things and broken places. He is close to the broken-hearted and never leaves us alone in our pain.
In a recent interview with the Saidi family, Emily, a highly experienced foster and adoptive mother, described how her church community supported them as they navigated the difficult realities of foster care and adoption.
The Saidi’s story includes many highs and lows, including a tremendous loss when a little girl they were in the process of adopting passed away before she was ever fully transitioned to their home from a shelter. The family was comforted by their church community, and people who had never even met this little girl showed up for the Saidi family at her funeral.
While they were still processing this heartbreak, another precious child entered their story. In Emily’s own words:
“Not long after, we were contacted about another little girl, Shelby, from the same shelter. She has special needs and requires a lot of care and supervision. We didn’t know if we had what it took to care for her. Initially, I felt trapped in my house because Shelby would run off in public or fall to the floor and refuse to move. How could I live if I couldn’t go anywhere? My church and my care community sent me a specialty stroller for Shelby. That stroller was the difference between Shelby growing up in a shelter or being adopted by our family. It gave us hope. It reminded us we were not alone. It gave us the ability to live. Shelby was adopted this year, and we could not be more thrilled that she is an official Saidi.”
“That stroller was the difference between Shelby growing up in a shelter or being adopted by our family. It gave us hope. It reminded us we were not alone.”
The Saidi’s journey is a poignant reminder that when a church shows up with steady love and practical help, families can keep going and children can finally come home. In this case, it was a community of people who showed up during the hard times, and a special stroller that made all the difference, but everyone can do something! How might you and your church make a difference for a family in your local area? As we prepare for the holiday season, we are grateful for a loving God who loves us, sees us where we are, and meets us there. We celebrate the incarnation, God’s plan to send His son Jesus into the world to save us from sin and darkness. Our God saw us in our deepest need and He came towards us in the midst of our brokenness. Through foster care, adoption, and the ministry of the local church, we share in that same movement of God by stepping toward children and families in their need just as Christ first stepped toward us.