First of all, I normally don't write things like this but just had this on my mind today.  It's more for me than anyone.

Today has been one of those days where I have had a lot of things and people on my heart.  I have been thinking a lot of B today and wondering how he is doing, I have been thinking of the toddler that we get (and her siblings) because they are heading to court tomorrow, I have been thinking of the friend we made when we started this journey and the baby they are fighting for and so forth.

I started thinking….we have only been doing this since May and every situation we have encountered has been drastic.  There were so many turns with B's situation that literally made us all go "huh???", there have been so many things with "Anna's" situation that make you go "seriously???" and it just seems like everyone I meet lately has a different story.  Now, don't get me wrong…if you keep up with anyone on Facebook associated with fostering and adopting there are great things happening.  There are kids being adopted, there are tons of people rallying together to make sure all these children have presents to open Christmas morning.  I mean, just this morning I was buying some shoes for a child our Sunday School class "adopted" for the holidays and the very young salesman told me that their shoe drive alone gives shoes to 60 or 70 kids in LR.  To me, that's pretty awesome.

But what about the parents of these kids?  What is going wrong?  Why is every situation drastic?  Why do these parents lose their kids and have absolutely no one there to support them.  Yes, in a lot of situations they have made some terrible choices and are facing very real consequences, but like I've mentioned before…B's mom is a victim of an endless cycle with no one to help her get out.

It got me thinking….we, as Christians, claim to have something these people need….and we do….we have the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.  However, why do they not want what we have?  Is it because we have become so legalistic in the way we present it they want nothing to do with it?  Is it a problem that we spend more time inwardly judging and criticizing someone because they use X-mas instead of Christmas that we can't see past our own noses?  I mean, if someone writes that they must be anti-Christ right?  Why else would they write that?  Never mind the real thing the X means.  We don't care about that.  Or the clerk that tells us Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.  We are too busy spouting back Merry Christmas in a way to let her know WE still celebrate CHRISTmas to consider that she's one of the people who has been at work since Black Thursday and makes minimum wage.  She goes home to 3 kids and can barely pay rent and all she can remember is some Christian who turned her nose down at her for saying Happy Holidays.  I mean, aren't we in the holiday season?

I am not saying we shouldn't stand up for what we believe in.  On the contrary.  I had someone tell me over the weekend that she literally had no one.  She feels in this fight by herself and she's trying as hard as she can to make ends meet.  She knows I am a Christian because I am open about it with her, but she wants nothing to do with church.

Just makes me sad because I want everyone to have what I have.  I literally couldn't survive without the unending love, grace, mercy and HOPE I receive every day.  Maybe sometimes, we (I) should strive to be more hands and feet and less mouth.