Sibling Visit
“..the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45
Our foster children’s siblings spent the night last night. Today I am tired. I think most parents would agree. It really is part of parenting, being tired. Exercise has become a necessity right up there with reading my Bible every morning to get me going and keep me focused on what is important each day. Letting our foster children spend time with their siblings is important.
The more I get to know the siblings, the harder it is not to notice that they are struggling in school because they are depressed. I can’t NOT be influenced by the fact that they are afraid of being separated from their siblings as situations and foster placements shift. I cannot miss the longing and sadness that washes over their faces when the siblings that live with us bubble over with excitement, sharing plans we have for Christmas, oblivious to the effect their innocent excitement causes. While the kids play together, I cannot help notice a stark difference between the siblings’ somberness and the exuberance and smiles on the faces of the children who live in our home.
All the children who live with us are a part of our family. In light of being a part of a larger birth family, our girls have continued to call my husband and me by our first names. Just yesterday, when I was putting in a load of laundry, one of our foster daughters ran into the room and asked, “Mom, can I have some spaghetti?”
“Sure,” I replied.
She ran back up the stairs just as I did a double-take. I looked to one of my other daughters standing next to me and asked, “Did she just call me, Mom?”
“Yes, I’m pretty sure she did it one other time before too.”
A sweet joy filled my heart. Maybe it was unintentional, but I believe what Jesus said in Luke 6:45
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
I know I cannot fix everything. But I firmly believe we can all do something. Last night that “something” was to get the siblings together so they could see each other, talk without adults listening, and love each other the way no one else can.
God positions us uniquely in our relationships to influence and encourage. Many times we are the only one who can do that particular little “something.”
What is the “something” that you can do where you are right now?