Dare to Dream

   Where do dreams come from?  I'm not exactly talking about the nonsensical stories that play out in your night time slumber, I'm more referring to heart dreams that can send one barrelling in one direction toward a specific goal, another country, an occupation, your own family and white picket fence, simply a better world.

   My dream is one of those better world dreams.  Somewhere in my childhood a deep brokenness was imprinted upon my heart, now I never stop aching for the broken, the abandoned, the abused.  My heart hurts for their sense of loneliness and feelings of being lost.  And I dream.  I dream that some how with one heart at a time we can change this vicious cycle that claims one generation after another.  I dream that we can make a difference.  I believe my heart dream came from God, who, as much as I ache, He aches so much more.

I remember the tiny seed from long ago, an intrinsic desire to inspire the unispired, to help kids see that their destiny is before them and encourage them to pursue it with all that they are.  Little did I know when I began to walk that path that it would lead me here, where I burn for foster kids, a population that not only doesn't know their destiny, they don't even know their day to day, and their future is painted with grave statistics that attempt to define them.

I think of the amazing people and experiences in my life that have helped that seed to grow; they watered, nurtured, and served as a lattice on which it can climb.  My one night experience in foster care when I was young; my youth pastor, his amazing family, and all the wonderful people that I met at that church; my amazing friend in college who has been through more in her childhood than anyone should ever go through in a lifetime.  Now everywhere I turn, I meet people with amazing stories that want to be foster parents, want to adopt out of the system, are using the sadness of infertility for good and seeking a child that needs a home.  I that want to be social workers, that want to be a part of Royal Family Kids' Camps where the lives and destinies of foster kids are changed every year.  Though at times I felt like a pinball being bounced from one thing to the next, now my tiny seed has grown into a giant beanstalk upon which I can climb and see the mass of kids (latest stats say the number is 423, 684) out there longing to seek a destiny true to their inward passions, and the mass of people longing to assist but just don't know how.  And I scream in utter elation, Thank you Jesus, today's reality for these kids does not have to be tomorrow's! 

Now, tag it on my forehead, MUST ... TALK ... ABOUT .... FOSTER CARE!!  I am not ashamed to say I am sold out for these kids, America's orphans, and we are creating an army who plan to make a difference.

Walk, share and dream with me, as I navigate through the complexities of the child welfare system, muse about the beautiful moments and every day challenges of being a foster parent, and dream of my children who I have yet to hold.