Taking a moment…
It’s been amazing to see how the children of Hearts That Hope have grown since they have joined our family. It always blows me away when I stop and think how each individual child is when they first come into our family to the present day; and how God has worked in their heart and how much they have grown in all aspects of their lives. But one of the trickiest avenues to navigate is discipline.
When they first come to us we spend the first 6 months trying to figure out where their moral compass lies and what they even understand as right and wrong. Most of them are in a survival mode and have been taught to fight, steal and lie to get whatever they can just to survive. Now even though all their needs are met, when they are placed in a situation (snack time for example) and they see something they want, their first reaction is to act out of that survival mode instinct. So all we are trying to do for the first 6 months to 2 years is to set that moral compass, and instil new values and instincts.
Then after that phase comes the next phase of disciplining the child, while simultaneously trying to maintain trust and the sense that we are doing what is best for them. It gets really tough when we are giving them consequences for their actions that hurt and don’t seem fair while still trying to build that trust that we won’t leave them or abandon them.
Just this week alone I’ve been called into two of our children’s schools to see the principal and deal with their behavior, one for stealing and one for hitting and pinching. I’m not one to make up excuses for my children but sometimes I just wish the people in the community could see these children through my eyes and even more so through Jesus’ eyes. I wish I could take away the children’s past hurt and abuse but I can’t and now I have to learn to navigate what is best for each child while taking into account their different past experiences (some I’m not even aware of).
Please pray that God grants us wisdom as we try to heal each child from their different past hurts and brokenness and help them understand the Love of God through us. Being a foster or adoptive parent is not easy so if you know someone who is please keep them in your prayers as well. We could not do what we do on a daily basis without the army of prayer warriors who are continuously placing us a Jesus’ feet. Thank you faithful supporters.