When God turns your entire ministry model on it's head.
One of my first CarePortal experiences was responding to a crib request for young expecting mom who was aging out of foster care herself. When I met M, she already had a deep desire to be a good mom with a stable family. We invited her to church with us on Sunday mornings, and she quickly started making friends. It just felt completely natural to throw her a baby shower instead of just dropping off a crib.. As time went on and our friendship grew, we realized that M actually needed more than just a pile of cute baby things. Our girl needed a sounding board for concerns, advice, encouragement, discipleship, she needed RELATIONSHIP every bit as much as she needed stuff.
The church stepped up to engage in a lot of ways. We made M a part of small groups, we helped her move and even upgraded that crib to a toddler bed. Honestly, we just tried to fold her in to the family the best we could… and somewhere along the line MeKaisha radically surrendered her life to the Lord!
I need to BRAG for just a minute:
M is on the Dean’s list in college. She receives awards and recognition right and left . She mothers a beautiful 3-year-old, holds down a job, and serves the local church. All of this while leading an advocacy group for youth aging out of care and planning a wedding! She just got engaged to an amazing young ministry leader, Isaac… And when God joins these 2 powerhouses, there’s no telling what they might accomplish for his Kingdom. It’s obvious that God has blessed M with the missing piece of her FOREVER FAMILY, and that he’s blessed US with a missing piece of ours.
When I responded to that crib request several years ago, I thought “she needs something, and I have it.” It was as simple as that. What I didn’t see at the time, was the elaborately orchestrated plan of our Father. I was completely unaware of how desperately we needed Mekaisha. The body of Christ was incomplete without her!
Without access to the CarePortal Platform (CarePortal.org) , I likely never would have met M. She may never have met Isaac, and who knows what joy we may have missed out on. Knowing and loving this ONE young lady has changed everything in my personal ministry. When I make a connection with a family through Careportal, I no longer look at it as a “I have what they need” scenario. I try to approach every individual with excitement in my heart, wondering:
“What beauty has God deposited here? What is God up to and how can I join him?" Because I am convinced that we are ALL blessed by the connection! There are gifts and treasures hidden in the heart of every child we serve. And the body of Christ stands incomplete without them.
We at CarePortal speak often about the circles of care. The child is at the center, wrapped in a healthy family, surrounded by a life-giving church, supported by thriving community, this is how we can best shelter a child. And sometimes I see that graphic almost in reverse…
...like a shock wave pattern. When we impact the life of a child, their strengths and gifts are activated first to influence their families, then offered up to the church and poured out into our communities. I picture that “number of kids served” statistic as a “number of impact zones”… or the number of lights turned on in the darkness. We may count them up, but Each one is so much more than a number.
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