Seen. 

This was my word. I stamped it on a rustic, feathered necklace with crooked letters and now wear it pridefully around my neck. I was at a creative retreat at the time and during the jewelry making worship we were encouraged to stamp a word on a pendent that represented where we were at in our lives. A word that had meaning to whatever we we were going through.

Before stamping these letters I had just recently read Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus encourages his people not to worry. Just like he takes care of the sparrows, the earth and the plants, he takes care of us. Why worry when he sees us? This is what this verse is trying to get across. Besides he is over all things and he upholds everything. I love this reminder.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

Here we are in this adoption process again. It’s a different path this time. Adopting though foster care is a totally different than going through a private agency and it’s full of foreign unknowns and risks. I thought the first time we adopted seemed scary but this process takes on a new level of scary. We probably seem crazy to many adopting an older child who could have behavioral issues and who could bring “chaos” to our lives. Yet, I don’t believe God called us to avoid “chaos”. I think he calls his people often to face chaos, fear, and the unknowns head on. To live in the tension causes us to deepen our dependence of Him.

I keep going back to this verse,”Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Just like God sees the birds of the air and takes care of them. I believe he sees the children in foster care who are waiting for forever families. He sees their need for a family and this is why we are adopting this way this time. It gets my juices flowing and my heart beating when I share about this local need with others. I can’t stop thinking about it. It even keeps me up at night.

He sees the stories and trauma of the these children and he wants people to step up and reach out.

What do we have to lose? Comfort? A “normal” looking family?

If you are in the process of adoption, if you are in the process of foster care, if you are in the thick of chasing a scary dream— He sees you. He sees your heart and he cares for it so deeply. He cares about your life and your cause. He is fighting alongside you and he is holding your hand.

I stamped “Seen” on a feather that day in honor of the sparrows described in Matthew 6. I also stamped the reminder into my heart remembering that he sees these children and he is there in their need. He is there in the joy, in the sorrow, and in the uncomfortable parts of this journey. He wants nothing more than to see peace on this earth. He wants to see families unite and healing take place.