Today, I got the wonderfully delightful invitation to attend a meeting with the case management team at DHHS. Sara and I, for those who don't know, are foster parents and get to sit in on court dates, hearings, and meetings, all of which are so much fun for me. For those who didn't really read the title and missed the blatant sarcasm, I do not like these feel good sessions comprised of a bunch of non-parents telling me how to parent. This is how I feel about the situation and it is many times the largest source of stress in my life.
Don't get me wrong, Sara and I love kids and love to help them get over difficult times in their lives and help families heal after tough circumstances. We currently have 2 kids in our care, so we get to go to meetings. YEAH!!!
Sara chooses to skip the meetings since she has our 3 kids with her and is the only driver at the moment, so she gets the good excuses and does not have to attend. Thankfully, this meeting was limited to 1 hour since everyone in this meeting had to go to another meeting as soon as this one was over. Mental note- reason number 458 that I work for myself. Meetings, I have decided, are just ways to rehash old info that has been discussed 100 times before and get paid by the hour to do so. Meetings make bureaucrats feel better and look better in front of those paying them to do whatever it is they do(usually not much)
So, on with our meeting. Things were going OK until someone brought up the subject of us and religion. Evidently "the state" aka DHHS, does not allow proselytizing and dragging children to church whether they want to go or not. I figure that if someone lives in my house and eats my food, they will go wherever I go or tell them to go. The state does not like my idea of parenting, I have found out.
Around our home, we talk about the Lord a lot in the course of a day, read the Bible and Bible stories, pray and attend prayer meetings, church services, and lead Bible studies. I was chastised today for not asking the foster kids if they would like to leave the room, therefore not giving them the option whether or not to participate. This actually surprised me, I don't know why, but it did. Those in charge of the case also did not like the idea that church attendance and attention during services is an expectation for our children. O well!
After being questioned about a lack of "junior church" and my expectation of children living with us to attend and be attentive to Bible reading, prayer, and dressing modestly, I had had about enough. I spoke up and told the "big cheese" that we were helping the kids more than they could ever know and that the choice was simple. They could leave the children in our care and the expectations would not change, or they could take them out of our care and find a new home. I am not going to back down on this one. This is a time when I feel I have to stand up for what I believe in. I know God told me in the Bible how to be a husband, father, and Christian. I will not allow anyone to stop me from fulfilling the role God gave me. Someone I once knew used to say" sorry if I don't do things your way, but God has a bigger stick than you" I think what he meant to say was "you ought to obey God rather than man" and that is what we shall do in this house. For me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
It is always times like this that I get so charged up about God. He has done so much for me, offered His only Son to pay for my sin. Jesus suffered and died a cruel death to pay for my sin. The least I can do is honor Him in my life. I emphasize that is the LEAST I can do. I hope that when circumstances come up, we are all able, by God's power to withstand when the devil tries to attack us. We need to always be on our guard and be counted among those who will face trials, mockery, persecution, and suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ. I know this isn't anything like what others have done, martyrs for Christ, but the thrill to see how God worked in this situation is amazing. I guess I should get the explaining that part.
It was after the meeting that I discussed watching a film at chapel with one of the workers. He asked more about the film and I told him it was called "The Star of Bethlehem" and that it was scientific evidence of the star mentioned in the Bible and how Daniel foretold Jesus' birth and how God used the Scripture to show signs of the fulfillment of His promise of the Lamb of God, sacrificed for our sin. He had to run, but I took his number and told him I would get more info for him. The film is a good witnessing tool for the scientific mind that demands evidence. Pray that I be able to tell him ( his name is Scott) more about not just the film, but the implications of God and His mighty hand in the universe, all pointing to our need for salvation from sin and fulfillment of prophecy.
I also got to talk to a counselor for the kids about religion and its role in our family. He approached me and told me that, contrary to the official state position, he felt that the knowledge of "a higher power" as he put it, was good for the kids. It could fill something missing in their lives. I was like "God created us and there is a definite need for us to seek Him" and he was nodding and agreeing the whole time. Pray that this fellow, Mike, would be open to talking more about God and the role of "religion" in our lives. He affirmed our position to keep praying with the kids and reading to them from the Bible. I was amazed at this. God truly is working in ways we could never explain.
I am so wound up right now, I could just explode. Here I am sitting in a government office with a bunch of unsaved folks, talking about kids, and I get the chance to plant seeds with these 2 men in under an hour. I can't wait to talk to them more and see if I am able to talk more personally, not just in vague generalities, but of sin, Jesus, and their need for a Savior. What a wonderful meeting it was!!
Mark
