How do you know when something is of God and not your own idea?
That is what I have been struggling with. We have been asked and agreed to become a group home for our foster care agency. Our agency is very excited. Very excited. I am excited, too. Nervous, but excited. I am also worried that I am crazy.
C R A Z Y.
If I truly think about it, though, and blogging is a great way for me to think things through, I am not really worried that I am crazy. What I am worried about is that all of you will think I am crazy.
What will you all think? Will you think that we are taking on more than we should? Will you think that will undoubtedly neglect our other children? Will you think that we are showing off? Will you think that we are looking for attention or vying for fake sainthood? Will you think that we are digging ourselves further into a pit where we are stuck, unable to do so many "normal" things like travel two miles across the state border to a friend's house without permission or sign our kids up for a variety of summer programs (6 kids times a variety of programs adds up fast!) or participate in marathons (this was once normal for me) or hike on a beautiful Saturday morning. What will you all think?
A group home in the state of Texas is defined as a foster care home that has more than 6 children. Adopted, biological, and foster children all count in the tally. If you have counted our current kiddos, I'd guess you would notice that we are at the magical number of 6. Taking one more child requires group home status. Group home status is a pretty big commitment, larger than just one day accepting one more child. It requires 20 more hours of training each year, in addition to the 30 hours already required of each Jon and I. It requires a fire marshal to inspect our home each year. It puts us on the radar of licensing, and surprise visits are pretty doggone likely. The biggest change from a regular foster home to a group home, however, is the hardest for me to accept. It is the reason that I am hesitating more than I normally would.
To become a group home, we have to accept...help. H E L P. Yes, that's right. We have to seek out and accept help. Lots and lots of help. You see, there is a specific requirement of a group home that means we cannot do this on our own, by ourselves. A group home is required to have 2 adults present any time that more than 6 kids are home and awake.
Jon works.
Quite often, he works a lot,. He works 6 days every week. I am only one adult. That means I have to ask others to help me. That's hard for this independent woman. I feel like we are the ones who signed up for this, so we should be the one handling it on our own.
Yes, we will hire someone to help me. My initial plan is to hire someone to come two full days a week, maybe more. That leaves lots of other time slots where I will still need help. It gives me a headache thinking about the organization that will be required in making sure I always have someone here with me when the kids are awake. Jon works on Saturdays and Sundays. Jon has meetings, sometimes in the early mornings, and other times at night. Jon takes trips out of town. He just got invited to be part of a program that will take him to DC four times in the next year. If I think too hard, I will get bogged down and back off. This is big. This is not going to be easy.
If I wonder if this is a God thing, I will have to revisit Jon's most recent sermon. Hearing it left no doubt in my mind or heart. None. Jon and I are supposed to open our doors wider to invite others in. We are. This is how we can do that for children right here who need are in need of a family right now.
I was recently explaining to Brishen that I got my college degree in Government because I wanted to work overseas for a Non-Governmental Organization, trying to make the world a better place. I thought that I might one day work in an orphanage somewhere. That was something I have always thought I could/would/should do. It's obvious that my life took a different path, but I am now finding myself able to do that same sort of life's work right here. You have to go a few miles over the border into Juarez to find something called an orphanage. But right here, in my own town, in my own home, I can care for children, more children, who are, for the moment, without a safe home and family. We can give them a family.
Wow, this path has been twisted, but it has somehow led me right back to where my heart has always been.
So, I have joined a site called Volunteer Spot. It lets me put in a schedule of when we will need volunteers to come play with some kids for a few hours. I don't know when we will officially become a licensed group home or when we will get our first placement that will take us over that number of 6, but we do have a trial run coming up in exactly one week. We have been asked to care for another 1-year-old for the first 10 days of July, which will be our first foray into being a group home. I ask those who know and love us and are nearby to consider signing up for a spot now and then or to spread the news to someone else who may be willing to volunteer once in a while. Our agency will require a brief background check and a copy of your driver's license. If you live in New Mexico, they may require you to get fingerprinted, too.
The work shouldn't be terribly tough. You may have to push a swing or read a few books. Even just sitting on the couch, being an extra set of eyes and ears is a big help. If you think you may be willing to help us help others in this way, please consider signing up for a time slot. Some slots are only 2 hours long and others are longer. Our initial request is only for July 1-10th. Once we get our first group home placement, we will have a more ongoing schedule.
Can you help for a couple hours once a week? Can you help for a longer time slot once a month? Can you be a back-up person who I can call in case someone has to cancel at the last minute? Can you help us get to church on Sundays or one Sunday a month? Here are the instructions to sign up:
"We're using VolunteerSpot (the leading online signup and reminder tool) to organize our upcoming activity.
Please sign up for Moore Family Foster Group Home July - here's how it works in 3 easy steps:2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!
Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually."
Please pray for us.
Pray for this new endeavor. Pray for the children who will need us.
Oh, and pray for those who will think we are absolutely crazy! They are right, of course!
No comments:
Post a Comment