Foster Care May 2012 Newsletter

Hi Everyone,

      I can’t think of a day that has gone by lately that I have not been approached in some form or another about the challenges that come with being a foster or adoptive parent.  For many of you, it may be that those challenges are not just stories you are hearing about, but ones you are living through today.  We want you to know that you are prayed for often and that we are so very grateful to God for how He is using you in this ministry.
       It has also been on my heart lately to remember that the challenges that arise are also opportunities to show the hope we have in Christ.  I realize that when we encounter challenging and heartbreaking situations, it can be hard not to want to assume that the situations are an indicator that we are not called to where God has us.  Sometimes this may be the case, but in most cases I believe that the challenges and heartbreak may just be the nature of following Christ.  I’ve realized through various conversations lately that as a Christian agency, people are watching to see how we corporately and individually respond to challenging situations.  Will we see the challenges and just give up? Or will there be something about the body of Christ that responds differently, and holds on to hope and a call that is higher than any we can receive in this world?  I realize that there are many hard things happening in many of our lives and that people really could be nicer, kinder, and more supportive of us through them, but will we choose to keep going and love them anyway?
       I recognize the difficulty in asking these questions because I can think of many times, even this week, where I didn’t represent Christ in my approach to a challenge, or I could have chosen a more loving response.  Even with the knowledge of how hard it can be though, I can’t shake the urgency.  People are watching you:  they want to know if our Core Values hold true to you, they want to know if we will choose to respond differently, and they desperately want the hope we have been given.  My prayer for all of us is that we remember that urgency, that we see opportunities for what they are, and that no matter the degree of heartbreak and challenge, we follow the call He has placed on our lives.

I love you all,
Andrea Stuart
Statewide Director of Foster Care & Adoption Services

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Upcoming Events

Maricopa County

Support Group:
Every 2nd Saturday of the Month
Saturday, June 9
Childcare is offered.
Come enjoy a safe and uplifting environment for Foster Parents!

Please contact Crystal or Will Krueger for more information at:
(602) 549-2214 or email at crystaldkrueger@gmail.com

Pima County

Support Group:
Thurs., June 14, 6-8 PM
At the ABCS Conference Room (childcare is next door at Emmanuel Baptist Church)
1825 N. Alvernon Way, Tucson,  85712

Please RSVP to Julee Aros-Thornton at:
(520) 795-7541

PS MAPP Classes

Our next round of PSMAP classes will be once a week for 10 weeks:

Mon. June 4 – Mon. August 6
6-9 PM in Pima County
&
Tues. June 5 – Tues. August 7
6-9 PM in Maricopa County

*For more information on PS MAPP sessions or other questions,
please contact the Foster Care & Adoption Department at
(800) 678-0648 or visit us online at:
www.abcs.org/foster-care 

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OUR CORE VALUES

Honor God in all we do.

Build relationships through trust and respect.

Be a good steward with what we have been given.

Do everything with excellence.

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Trusting God:

Devotion by : Megan Wesley – Foster Care Specialist – Pima County

“‘For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’”
                                                                                                                                   -Jeremiah 29:11-13

       These are some of my favorite verses in the Bible. They are so encouraging. Who doesn’t love a good reminder that even though we have no idea what is going on in our lives, God does, and He has the best in mind for us. But what does that really mean?  I think a lot of times we assume these verses mean that if we pray to God for what we want, then He will give it to us. Obviously He won’t give us everything we want, but if we think it’s good and the right thing for us, and He says He wants the best for us, then why wouldn’t He give it to us? However, to me that question begs another: how do we know what is really best for us?
     Jeremiah wrote these verses to a group of people who were being held captive and were in exile from their homeland. He was writing to remind them that while they were not where they would have expected or where they wanted to be, God had not forgotten them and He still had a plan for their lives. I believe this is something we can all relate to at some point in our lives. We’ve all been places that we didn’t want to be or we don’t understand why we are currently there, but it is in those times that God’s reminder to us is that He knows. He doesn’t plan for our harm, but for our prosperity. Now does that mean that His plan is always going to feel like it benefits us personally? No, I don’t think so. And I also don’t think that it means that He will immediately move us from the place that we’re in just because we ask. He does promise us a hope and a future, but he does not give us a timeline. We are to trust that God knows what is best for us even though that may not look like what we think it should, and that is because He is God and we are not.
     These truths are often hard to understand and to accept in our lives or in the lives of others we love. We ask all the time, “God, why?” “If you say you have plans to prosper us and not to harm us, then why would you let this happen?” The truth and comfort that I always come back to is that I can’t see the full picture. God is an almighty and powerful God who chose to put me on this earth; why would I think that I know better than Him what is best for me or others? As hard as it can be to accept sometimes, I choose to own this verse in my own life. God knows the plans He has for me and they are not to harm me, (even if it seems like that sometimes) and He will give me a hope and a future (even if I can’t see it now). God wants us to submit our lives to Him fully and trust that what He says is true. As hard as it is sometimes, that is always more appealing to me than doing it on my own. I pray that God will reveal this promise to you in your own lives with any hardships, trials, or struggles you are currently going through and that it will be a comfort to you
    

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