Tonight, T and I read the story of blind Bartimaeus in her story Bible. She kept pointing to the picture and saying, “He’s screaming! He’s screaming!”... which does give some insight on a common behavior issue for miss T. 😂
“No, he’s not screaming. He’s shouting, ‘Jesus, help me! Jesus, help me!’ Do you think Jesus will help him?”
She looked at me and very solemnly nodded yes.
She had no doubt Jesus would help him. Why? She hadn’t heard this story before. She doesn’t yet know Jesus. I’m not even sure how much she understands with her limited two-year-old speech. But yes- she was sure. Why?
Because she knows what it is to be loved. And when she cries for help, someone helps her.
She doesn’t know Jesus yet or understand His love, but she knows us. She knows she is loved and safe and someone comes when she cries for help.
Parents of young children, these years are hard. Little ones are so sweet and say funny things and look precious in pictures, but these years are hard. I hear you. There’s a reason why T assumed Bartimaeus was screaming.
But these hard years of diapers and spilled milk and crayon on the walls and time-outs and hugs and giggles and meltdowns and scraped knees are building for our little ones a deep foundation on which their understanding of the love of the Father can be built. They won’t even remember all we do, but their little hearts and minds will remember being safe and loved- they will remember being helped when they needed you and loved when they were unloveable, and it will enable them to believe that Jesus can love them as they are. These years are hard and unseen but they are valuable.
And as we come to the close of foster care awareness month, I must say this: there are thousands and thousands of children in our own backyards who would not feel confident in being safe or loved or helped- because this has not been their reality. How can they imagine a God who loves and cares for them and helps them when they can’t even imagine what that would be like in the flawed human world? If God is calling you into foster care or adoption, I know it’s scary. And no, you aren’t able to do this on your own. But I can tell you this- when you call for Jesus to help you, He does.
You are not alone. Let’s show them they aren’t either.