Empty of heart

Ironically, this was seen 30 minutes after foster children came back to us from Thanksgiving. I have to say we expected it. 

Heartless, is an adjective that means "displaying a complete lack of feeling or consideration". 

If this wasn't meant for me and my family, great. No biggie. If this was, then there is a list I'd like to address:

1. If taking in strangers into our home is heartless, then yes, we have been heartless many times for so many years. 

2. If serving those who are not able to give back is heartless, then please, give us all name tags with the word on it. 

3. If feeding strangers is heartless, well ok, just stamp the word heartless on our foreheads. 

4. If the ministry of taking care of children who were hurt by those closest is heartless, ha, chisel the word upon our veins. 

5. If dealing with difficult pushy people who were not up front with facts, with admonition, love, and grace is heartless, let it be, burn the word on our lips. 

6. If giving speech and physical therapy to a baby around the clock until he is caught up in his development is heartless, wow, punch that word into my ears. 

7. If standing up for children's well being is heartless, fine, then label us completely heartless. 

8. If fighting for children's right to live, grow, and develop healthily is heartless, I am, I am , I am.

9. If standing and agreeing with many doctors to proclaim "stop labeling your child as defected when he isn't" to avoid a life long label is heartless, let it be, carve that word into our backs.

10. If refusing to hand children to people I don't trust is heartless, isn't that funny, go ahead and scream at us about being heartless. 

11. If homeschooling strangers' developmentally delayed child due to codependency is heartless, I have nothing to defend against, I have no beating heart.

12. If fostering for free with no compensation at all due to "fictive kinship placement" and not expecting anything in return is heartless, we have been duped, we have no blood pumping through our veins. 

13. If taking care of strangers' children with TLC when they come back sick with diarrhea and/or vomit from every visitation is heartless, sure, we are heartless to the core. 

14. If following professional advices to feed the baby more formula instead of pumping him with solids is heartless, yay, we are so heartless we must have cut out our own hearts.

15. If nursing your baby back to life and health when he came to us with failure to thrive, unwilling to drink formula, not sleeping through the night, not crawling, not cooing, not pushing up, not standing up, filled with eczema, not signing, not sitting up at all, terrified of peekaboo, is heartless, I agree, hearts are absent from our souls. 

16. If limiting sugars and cooking healthy meals for children is heartless, man, we are the most heartless of all. 

17. If teaching an older child who mistakenly blamed younger siblings for their misfortune, to hug, kiss, love, and be gentle to younger siblings by word and example is heartless, right again, we are heartless as crustaceans. 

18. If helping children discover what they love to do and passionate about is heartless, I am as heartless as any other teacher.

19. If noticing a child's anxiety and saying No to his stress eating till he is sick in the stomach is heartless, arrest me for being heartless.

20. If limiting screen time so children can be creative, learn how to read, learn how to manage their time, learn how to play with others, is heartless, just maybe, my heart has been drained of its blood.

21. If taking out solids to figure out what a child is allergic to step by step is heartless and have to fight certain people for them to stop solids to figure it out is heartless, yeah, we are heartless all right.

22. If praying over and with children to return home and trust in the Lord no matter what is heartless, we are indeed the worst people on earth and don't even have livers or kidneys. 

23. If protecting one's family, marriage, children, and ministry, from the tornado of personal problems that need professional counsel to fix is heartless, we are the worst and heartless protectors ever.

24. If obeying our Lord Jesus after careful fasting, prayer, and consideration, even though we don't quite understand, and it is difficult to do and goes against our instincts is heartless, then we are just being as heartless as Jesus is.

We are guilty of being heartless if heartless is defined as such, completely guilty. No arguments there.

There are always two sides to a coin. Never be simple minded and only listen and believe in one side of a story without thinking for oneself. Thank you Jesus for Your Grace. Without Your grace we would not have had the privilege to know and help these children and their family. Under Your sovereignty we now hand them back knowing that You have greater plans for them and their families. Thank You that You in our infinite wisdom allowed us to see the truth and to understand Your love for these children. Thank You for being our Defender, our Shield, and our Refuge. We will stand firm in Your truths and promises, and continue in our ministries in the name of Your Son and for Your Kingdom. You are the God of all things and all people and all kingdoms. No one is like you. Your understanding surpasses ours and Your ways are beyond our ways. I truthfully cannot say I look forward to our next adventure because these adventures are so many times filled with suffering. But I thank You from the deepest parts of my heart knowing that these times of sufferings draw me only closer to You as You show me the legacy of pain You are going through since the fall of man. I praise You and will continue to be hospitable to those who are homeless, fatherless, childless, faithless, heartless, and thankless. We will choose to be thankful, purposeful, faithful, hopeful, and spirit-filled. 



1Thessalonians 5:12-28 

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Brothers, pray for us.

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.