I stared at the paper, but the words didn’t change.  “There are no concerns.”  There it was, my handwriting in black ink on the medical chart.  In medical language, it means that the patient isn’t sick.  They don’t feel bad.  There is nothing wrong.  Normally that is a good thing.  But this time, as I sat filling out yet another medical form for yet another child entering the emergency foster shelter, I found myself overtaken with emotion.

                                               Anger.  Disgust.  Frustration.  Sadness.  Worry. 

I wrote that there were no concerns.  But that isn’t true.  I have concerns.  I have lots of concerns.  Concerns about these children.  About what they will think about and what they will feel when the lights go out at night and the shelter is quiet.  About where they will live next, and whether the family who takes them in will treat them as their own or merely as transients.  About whether their social worker will get to know them as human beings or just by a case number.  About when they will see their family again, and whether that reunion will be filled with joy or anger or fear. 

We should be concerned.  And may that concern fuel our actions.  May it compel us to get out of our comfortable lives where most of our concern is for ourselves, and to be concerned for someone else for a change.

heat dome

In Oklahoma, we know what that means.  It means that a high pressure system is sitting right on top of us.  It means that the atmosphere has a lid right over our heads, a lid that allows the sun’s rays to find their way in but never out.  It means that you can fry an egg on the sidewalk, or cook dinner on your car hood if you wanted to. 

Heat.  Pressure.

His shoulders slumped slightly, as if he carried the world on them.  Quiet at first, but when I asked about his younger siblings, he spoke up, telling humorous stories about his attempts to keep them somewhat out of trouble.  The conversation shifted to his dad, and the quiet returned.  Alcoholic, violent, angry.  When dad was awake, the kids hid.  In their rooms, the garage, under the porch.  One day a neighbor saw the kids playing and brought them some lemonade.  A conversation started.  Over time, they felt safe.  Then one night, when they needed a hiding place, they ran to the neighbor’s house.  There are new challenges now, but no hiding.  No drunken rage.

Some kids feel heat and pressure every single day.  It doesn’t go away when the seasons change.  But it can be relieved when we are willing to be a refuge, a safe place for those around us who need it.

Will you be a refuge?

From kids in foster care…

No one could really understand what my life is like.  No one pays attention to what I do, or cares about how I feel.  No one looks me in the eye and say “I love you and care about you,” and even if they did, I wouldn’t believe them.  No one that I love has stayed around for very long.  I don’t feel safe because there are too many dangerous things in the world.  I hurt in ways that no one else understands.  When I needed you most, you left me and now I am broken in a million pieces.  Please help me put the pieces together, because I don’t know what to do.

Enough said.  What will you do to help?

“Pure, unstained religion…is to take care of orphans and widows when they suffer…”          James 1:27 (GWT)

In case you didn’t notice, I love telling stories.  It is how I communicate.  As a story-teller, I can use language to help you understand the struggles of kids in foster care, and if I am really fortunate, I might even be able to stir up some emotion.  I’m glad – I would be worried about whether you were alive if you weren’t a little bit stirred.  But emotion will not change the lives of these kids.  It will not bring light to darkness – to do that, you have to plug in.  So today, I am going to tell you about an organization that is committed to foster kids, and it is a place you can get involved. 

Citizens Caring for Children was created in 1984 – it was the brain child of George and Rose Harper, a couple who had taken in foster kids.  As children moved through their home, the Harpers realized that while foster kids may come with some social or emotional baggage, they don’t come with any physical baggage.  In fact, some of them have only the clothes on their backs.  So, the Harpers decided to do something about it.  They enlisted the help of the First Presbyterian Church of Edmond, OK and began providing basic necessities to foster kids – clothes, school supplies, etc.  Now, 26 years later, the organization is still going strong.  It is a quality place to pour your resources and your time, so if you are moved at all by the stories of foster kids, and you are looking for a way to help, Citizens Caring for Children is a place to start. 

www.citizenscaringforchildren.org