The carers told me some of the kids stories, and as I heard them I saw them running around and my heart broke. I had so much love for them that I wanted to protect them from any further harm that life throws at them.
So we did craft, dancing, bush walks (the photo above is the little girls making their way through), chasing (not planned just happened because some kids love to run away) and A LOT of carrying!!! my muscles ache! The camp was full on.
I have such respect for foster parents. A lot of them have already been parents and their kids have grown up, are still raising their own children and some people have just opened up their homes to complete strangers. The kids they take in have been broken in so many ways and it is them who have to show the kids that they are loved and adored for who they are and they deserve to be treated with respect! They discipline with love, deal with the pain and fear and slowly nurture these broken hearts.
I'm not even going to go into my thoughts about the real parents because I don't them, I've never seen them, and I don't have the right to talk about someone I know let alone someone I don't. I also feel very passionate about protecting kids so anyone who puts a child at risk… it angers me lets just say.
But all in all it's got be thinking. To bring a child into the world is a realllly big responsibility. That is an eternal soul. A child that will go either to spend eternity in heaven… or one that will spend the rest of eternity in pain and agony; that's a huge responsibility. Not only that but a child NEEDS to be protected, but not smothered. I'm scared of having children because I wouldn't want to do something wrong. I wouldn't want to screw them up and have them spend eternity in hell. I would want them to always know they are loved, and I know that there are times when I am not loving at all. To be a parent is the biggest responsibility we can have.
I know I cannot control everything and don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to have kids, but I would hate myself so much if I screwed them over, didn't give them enough attention, wasn't good at being a parent. How do you know if you should have children?
oh moo (its Zizi) u have such a big heart!!! There is nothing like seeing other people's hardships to make you aware of your own blessings, and seeing heros such as foster carers to make us aware of our shortcomings. To me, the fact that you are so filled with compassion and understanding of putting another's welfare before your own is signs that you are perfect for dealing with young children in the right way. The bible states that children are a blessing, not a burden. But that they are His, and not our own. in a sense, we are the foster parents of God's kids, just doing what we believe to be best for them and using His guidance to do so. When people are disobedient to Him one of the punishments includes being baron. I would not want to wish that upon anyone, and of course, being in a fallen world means that some are deprived of the joy of parenthood. Obviously God sees having children and caring for children and a noble cause, and one to be taken seriously, as you have noted. But responsibility and burden are two separate things. Responsibility should be respected, as it means you are given a gift that you should greatly cherish, whereas a burden is an obligation that you must fulfill. Parenting can be either depending on your own views. We choose which one to view. I love being a parent... and sure, its a HUGE responsibility, but never a burden. It is a gift, not an obligation. With a heart like yours for caring i do believe that God will bless you with children, may they be your own or another's. Whilst to have your own is truely amazing, to care for others is as if God has deemed you worthy to be blessed in caring for His own.
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