what an absolutely joy it was to record two podcast with a ministry rockstar, mary wiley. this one is so personal and special because i share a bit about my foster-to-adopt journey. how fun to talk about it with someone that has walked the same path.
you can listen to my interview here.
be sure to check mary’s amazing site here.
i just didn’t see it, and if i am totally honest i didn’t want my eyes opened to all the hurt and pain in the foster care system. i liked my comfy, bow-headed bubble in my suburb of alabama. if i didn’t know what was happening just miles away, the thoughts didn’t have to haunt me. the truth about children in foster care just doesn’t sink in until you begin to have your eyes opened so you can really see.
so, if you want your eyes opened to see a glimpse into this world that has hurts and sadness only our great God can begin to heal, take time to watch part one and two of “removed.” oh, and have a box of tissues handy. come, Lord Jesus, come! (part one and two links are below.)
in 2015, birmingham was #1 on the list and in 2017, we were second place to chattanooga. i am not surprised birmingham is on the list. we are the buckle of the Bible belt with more ministries and churches than street corners. i get it. i have Biblically minded conversations almost daily and see God working in great ways, but then i read a verse that has become near and dear to my heart – james 1:27:
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
with that knowledge, i take a look at another set of numbers, numbers that absolutely crush my soul.
with such a stark contrast in numbers versus principle, i had to go back to the first article and discover what they are calling a Biblically minded city. here is their definition:
“Each year, Barna and American Bible Society rank the nation’s top media markets based on their level of Bible engagement. Individuals considered to be Bible-minded are those who report reading the Bible in the past week and who strongly assert the Bible is accurate in the principles it teaches.This definition captures action and attitude—those who both engage and esteem the Christian scriptures. “
let me be clear and say i don’t dare throw a stone from my two-story glass house (i had no idea about our great need for foster parents until my eyes were opened), but at the same time, i can’t just sit and be silent. birmingham is consistently on this list of biblically minded cities, yet the state has numbers about foster care that should haunt us all. the craziest thing is, the number of churches doubles the number of kids in the system in our state. my takeaway,
[bctt tweet=”if birmingham is really a biblically-minded city, we must be using a black sharpie marker to highlight james 1:27 so we don’t have to be held accountable to its charge.” username=”dandibell”]
i don’t have all the answers and while i have adopted one through the foster care system, i simply can’t take in another 4,000. (although it is my dream to be the old woman in the shoe. i just hear the pay isn’t very good.) call me crazy, but what would happen if only half our state’s churches rose up? what if our biblically minded city really took this verse to heart? honestly, through the messy work of foster care (with either reunification or adoption as the outcome), i think we would begin to see revival as we see the Gospel lived out in loving the least of these.
so for now i pray, i educate, and i speak up for these kids. may God use this biblically-minded city to blow people away with the love of Christ displayed by those that love His Word.
please comment and share what the believers in your area are doing change these statistics?
