This guest post by Phillip Pattison, Executive Director of Foster the City, will bring home the poignancy of what we do.
| “Philip, our house is on fire!”This was the call that I received as I was standing in line at Target, just days before Christmas. I raced home, and sure enough, there were four fire trucks in front of our house. We ended up displaced from our home for 10 months. The day after the fire, my wife and kids drove up north to stay with family and I planned to join them a few days later for Christmas. But then the storms hit. My flight was cancelled and there was no way to reunite with them for the holidays. So, there I was. Christmas Eve. In a hotel room. A traumatic event had just ripped me from my home. Almost everything I owned was gone. The people that I love most in the world were far away, and there was nothing I could do to get to them. It was one of the saddest, loneliest moments of my life. And that’s when it hit me. Every day, there are children entering foster care in our communities that are experiencing something very similar. Because of trauma, they are removed from their home, their stuff, their family, their lives are turned upside down. Now I hesitate in making the parallel, because what I experienced pales in comparison to that of a child entering foster care...but for a moment, God gave me a small glimpse of the grief and loneliness that comes with being displaced from all that you hold dear. Can I share with you what I did on that Christmas Eve? I went to church. I attended three Christmas Eve services! I needed to be surrounded by people that loved me and cared about me. I needed to be reminded that God moves towards us in our need. When a child comes into foster care, their first instinct may not be to run to the Church, but the Church can run to them. And that is what Foster the City is all about. Our mission is a Church for Every Child. If you'd like your church to get involved in raising up and supporting foster families, click here. Every child deserves to know they're not alone. In the hope of Christ, Philip Pattison Executive Director Foster the City |
| Foster the City.org/give |
