This post is a continuation of the previous post, so forgive me if I just dive right into it...
Ever since the Lord touched my heart about 12 years, I have been on a journey. A journey of being MADE, which is why the blog is called that. In those 12 years, I have had mountain top experiences and have faced valley lows. In all that time though, one thing was constant... the Lord's faithfulness, constant care, and love for me. The more I understand how much He has done for me when He took upon my sins, having all of my "baggage" placed on His sinless body so I didn't have to pay such a price, the more my heart looks to bridge others to His endless and powerful generosity.
Last post, I described how the Lord started to break my heart for the youth in foster care. When I say "breaking my heart", I mean giving His heart for them to me. It' not easy to see something so broken, that you really don't know what to do about, and commit to being a part of it's betterment. But when you have been given so much undeservedly, like God's continual blessings, love, and faithfulness, how can a heart not want to give out from that fountain of grace? But sometimes that happens... to the best of us. Sometimes those on the receiving end of God's grace can get stuck in a church culture that can make the heart mirky. Not mucky... just mirky:) I think my heart got stuck in "church stuff" where priorities shifted. I was seeing a lot of activity but my heart felt like I was missing something. I got confused of what His priorities even were, until God one day gave me His heart for kids I never knew about. I realize priorities are relative in the context of "calling". However, I know this... children who have been abandoned, who have been wounded, who have wounded themselves, and who have no one to show them the ways that lead to a healthy life or care for them ARE God's priority. If this were not so, Jesus wouldn't have come.
The Lord led me to a need last Christmas. A foster youth who spent her whole childhood in the system was now old enough to "age out" of the system and was on her own... in an empty apartment. An email had somehow gotten to me that she needed a heater because this empty apartment was cold in December. For days the thought of her in an empty apartment, after a parentless childhood, weighed on my heart till it broke. This heater led to an involvement with the foster care community that I never saw coming. The invisible children, kids I never knew about, have now become visible. Now FEELING God's heart, KNOWING His grace and love, and SEEING where both His heart and love need to be directed led me to start The Storehouse. We serve the foster care community with free resources that range from providing basic needs for the kids in the system to furnishing the first homes of youth who "age out" of the system. We also provide educational/housing needs and ULTIMATELY HOMES for the kids who need caring families by partnering with the Department of Child and Family Services in the state. Simply, we are putting the scripture James 1:27 to action combined with our belief that there is more than enough supply for EVERY need in God's Storehouse. We have seen God provide in amazing ways already and He keeps expanding our reach in what we can provide. It's daunting because the needs are so great BUT HE IS TRULY AT WORK in demonstrating His faithfulness to these kids and families who need a tangible expression of His love and care.
Make no mistake, I do not believe "good works" get us closer to God. God's blessings and acceptance comes from nothing and no one other than Christ. You can't earn it. Only believing in what Christ has already done for us on the Cross gives us right standing with God. This "work" that I do is because of His great work in me. It is an honor to be a part of His plans and caring for those He puts in front of us. It's just an absolute honor and an absolute joy.
My prayer is that the love of Christ would become or continue to be a reality in our hearts. It is only from this reality where our greatest capacity to care comes forth.
Please turn your hearts to children who need care, homes, families, love. Contact me or your state's Department of Child and Family Services to see how you can care for the orphaned in your community.
Kim Winston Bigler
FREEtheINSIDE
(This post is dedicated to those families who have already grabbed the rope to climb this mountain with us and to the kids who inspire every step.)
No comments:
Post a Comment