Have you ever thought of the words to “Joy to the World”? Remember the lines…“He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love”. I thought about those words and how they relate to our children. They long for truth in a world that is giving them mixed messages. One of the biggest complaints that children in foster care have is that they don’t know what’s going on in their case. These are little people that have to think about and try to comprehend what is going on with real life adult situations. They may ask . . . “When can I go home?” “Is my mom lying dead in a ditch somewhere?” “My parents say I’m going home next week, but my caseworker says it may be six months. . . So, I know I’m going home next week, right?” The truth is that we don’t know what is going to happen in their cases and we don’t know what their future holds. While their broken hearts are here, we try to teach them about the wonders of His love and how amazing His grace truly is.
What about a Heavenly peace during a silent night? Christmas at Miracle Hill Children’s Home can be a lot of fun with the many parties to attend and presents to open. Usually these parties provide a distraction from the worries that our kids live with every day. Last week we attended a wonderful Christmas dinner provided by Red Robin Restaurant. On the way home, one of our boys became very angry and we had to stop the bus until he was able to work through what was making him scream at the other children and staff. In the end, we learned that the Christmas music we had all been singing to was making him angry. His mom and dad canceled their visit again and he is “stuck” in foster care. Two weeks before he learned he may not be going home when his adoption worker stopped by for the first time. A peaceful and silent night is a night when our kids don’t cry themselves to sleep because they miss their family. Heavenly Peace can only come from the Prince of Peace.
As we celebrate Christmas, we are grateful for so many volunteers, churches, and businesses that work hard to provide for our children throughout the year and at Christmas. Please continue to pray for our boy and girls. We wish you all a Christmas filled with the true meaning of Christmas!
