2012: A Year for Change

This is a guest post written by my friend Rachel Paxton.Rachel is a freelance writer and mom of five. For recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com

by Rachel Paxton

The year 2011 was a year of a lot of ups and downs for our family. We experienced a series of financial setbacks, leading to us having to down-size almost everything we own, including our home. Throw in a couple of sinus infections and seven or eight ear infections among our three children, and that pretty much sums up my year!

I keep waiting for things to get better. I’m still waiting. My husband and I are both self-employed, and the economy is having a big impact on our ability to support our family. Add in rising health insurance costs, and things just aren’t getting better.

I’m the kind of person who likes everything organized. I like to know what I’m doing today, tomorrow, or next week. I’m a planner. It’s just in my DNA!

Our pastor recently said in a sermon that people who have it all together don’t need Jesus. I had to laugh. It is a strong statement to make, but if you really think about it, it is true. If we always live on our strength and according to our own plans, it leaves little room for God to work through us.

My husband and I have five children. Our oldest daughter just turned 24 in November, and our youngest son will be 3 years old in April. Needless to say we aren’t getting any younger! Part of me has been looking forward to when our youngest starts school, then part of me thinks what I am going to do then??

I am reminded of the Proverbs 31 woman, the Biblical model of what a woman should strive to be, and in fact one of her characteristics is that “She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.” Proverbs 31:20. This verse can mean different things for different people.

I love my children more than anything, and I would do anything for them. It’s easy, however, to focus all your energies on your own family and not pay attention to what is going on in families around you.

In the past year several family situations have been brought to my attention that really disturbed me. In both situations babies who had just been born were sent home from the hospital directly into foster care, and not home to their parents. It is very unlikely that either of these families will be able to pull themselves together to the point where they will be able to have their children back, possibly ever. There are drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, and mental health issues involved, and those children would not be safe with their biological parents.

Children are placed into foster care every day, for many different reasons. Some eventually go home to their parents, and some don’t. Foster parenting isn’t for everyone. It is not easy. It can be heartbreaking. What is heartbreaking to me is the fact that there are millions of children in our own country who don’t have a safe place to call home.

I think God is calling some of us to help care for these children, and I can’t ignore this calling any longer. Next month my husband and I will begin attending necessary training classes to become foster parents.

I don’t know what the future holds for our family. We thought we were done having children, but God may have other plans for us. So much for having my life planned and organized! I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Please make Rachel feel welcome at NanaHood. Leave a comment and visit her web site!