The business/organization Sevenly (sevenly.org) has a slogan "People Matter", and I couldn't agree more. No matter who you are, where you came from or where you are going, scripture and the Gospel tells us you matter.
Yesterday was Mother's Day. Tiffany and I were sitting around while the kids napped. I had thought about our kid's birth mothers that morning. Even though they don't have custody of their kids, they are still mothers, and it was Mother's Day. I got a text. It was from one of our kids birth mother. She said she needed help ASAP, and wanted us to call her. So Tiffany called her to see what was up. The short story of it was she had been laid off, lost her apartment, and basically been living on the streets for 2 weeks. We had a situation, and had to decide how to respond. We asked her if she could meet us around Cafe Eclectic because that is where we were going to be for our Gathering on Sunday night between 5:00 and 7:00. She said she would.
As soon as our Gathering was over, Tiffany went to pick her up. We told her we would find a place for her to stay for the night. We were now on a mission to find something for her. Not just a place to stay for the night, but something that would help her get back on her feet. After a lot of searching, phone calls and texts, it was late. We decided to let her stay the night at our house. A few people offered, and were gracious enough to let her stay, but we just couldn't do it. This morning, Tiffany took her to talk to some people to find a solution. Again, after many calls and texts, Youth Villages is going to do what they can to help her out.
I can't imagine the guts it took to reach out to us for help. Imagine you just turned 20 years old, you have only had one child, and they were adopted. You have for the most part been on your own since you were 14 because you are the oldest of 10 siblings. You helped take care of your brothers and sisters since you can remember, but you don't know how to take care of yourself. I am sure we were the last people she wanted to call for help, but I am glad she did. You see, the reason we wanted to do foster care, instead of private adoption, is because we wanted a chance to invest in the birth mothers also, not just our kids. I saw my wife step up in a way that blew me away. The amount of love she has for others, is untouchable. Our child's birth mother is at such a vulnerable point in her life. She could make it on her own the only way she has ever seen it done, but she is choosing to try to do it the right way, and we are proud of her. She is a product of her environment at pretty much no fault of her own.
In the last 24 hours, I have seen Tiffany LIVING out the Gospel. We want to be able to tell our kids one day that when their birth mothers needed help, we were there for them, and not that we turned our backs on them. But, ultimately we wanted to help because that is what the Bible tells us to do: Love Your Neighbor. Please keep her in your prayers, she has a long road ahead, but she is willing to give it a try.
Matt
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