A very good question posed after my mention of this verse in last night's update:
"The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him,
but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming."
Psalm 37:12
Psalm 37:12
I spent a very long time in the beginning of this journey trying to figure out where the breakdown in the system was. Is it DFACS? Is it poor lawyers? Is it poor judges? Is it biological families? Is it lawmakers? Is it poor foster parents? ...and I could go on and on.
Likewise, I searched for the answer. Do we ultimately need better DFACS case managers? better judges? better foster parents? better lawyers? more accountability for biological families? better government policies?
Every time I peeled back a layer of the system, the Lord showed me another one. Every time I thought I had found the solution, the Lord showed me another problem, and he continues to do so. Just when I thought, "Wow! So many of these biological mothers and fathers have no idea how to parent their children. They are to blame!" God gave me Miss M, whose mother opened my eyes to the heartbreaking reality of multi-generational foster care. How could I expect a child who grew up in foster care, herself, to know how to parent a child of her own? You can find my account of that meeting here. Just when I thought, "If we could just find a good CASA...or a good lawyer...or a good case manager..." The Lord showed me the power of the judge that reigned supreme. Just when I thought, "If we could just find a good judge," God gave us Zizi, who had a wonderful judge who was simply bound by the word of the law to make a very unfortunate decision.
So, what is the lesson here? What is the Lord teaching me? I think He's teaching me the true meaning of the depravity of man. I think He's teaching me the overwhelming reality that human beings will never be able to fix what is broken in this world. I think He's teaching me that Satan has an agenda that includes attacking the fatherless, and that evil is very real and very present in each and every one of these heartbreaking cases. Satan is plotting against the world's fatherless. He is gnashing his teeth at them, and I see him do it regularly. I see him use jaded case managers. I see him use lazy lawyers. I see him use biased judges. I see him use lawmakers. I see him use biological families. I see him use foster families.
The reality is this: without Christ, we are wicked...
"None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands; no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good, not even one."
Romans 3:10-12
...and I see it so vividly in the court room. This is why I tell people it's one of the darkest places I've ever walked.
The answer is Christ moving through His church. I pray the church will stop ignoring the fatherless children that fill America's foster system. I pray that one day I will go to court and see many more joy-filled Christ-following faces who are passionate about seeking justice in the name of Christ. I pray that the Lord will finally laugh at this wicked scheme, but if not today, I pray He will protect my own sinful heart from becoming lazy, jaded, discouraged, impatient, proud, or biased. If I don't humbly walk in the light of Christ by His grace, strengthened by the joy of the Lord, I will forfeit the privilege of being used by God as a light in a dark place and will be no different from this world at all.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand
against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand firm.
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit,
with all prayer and supplication."
Ephesians 6:10-18a
And with that, I have a quick plug for a new film. "Faultless is a full-length documentary developed by Unthinkable and the Christian Alliance for Orphans. The goal of the project is to inspire and equip the Church in America to more deeply love and care for domestic orphans for the glory of God.
"The film combines a mix of adoptive/foster parents, children from the system, and a variety of experts providing commentary along the way. They created Faultless for the person who is not currently engaged in caring for domestic orphans in America, it was made for the ignorant. In light of this, the film hits on a variety of topics without going very deep on any of them. Among many other topics, the film discusses aging out, the importance of state collaboration, the need for more African-American parents, and the fears adoptive families face. All of the topics in the film are covered through the lens of the Gospel with explicit motivation from James 1:27."
They are showing this film in Atlanta, GA on January 25, 2013 at 7:00pm. I'm hosting a gathering after the film to discuss any thoughts conjured up by the film. If you are a Christian, you are commanded to care for orphans in some capacity. This doesn't mean we all have to be foster parents. Far from it! But, we are all commanded to care. Understanding the system is the first step to figuring out how you might be able to care for America's orphans. We will discuss everything from donating children's clothing and toys to advocating in the legal system to being a babysitting resource to being a foster parent. Please message me if you'd like more information. For security reasons, I can't post any more details on this page.
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
Ephesians 3:20-21
No comments:
Post a Comment