"Attempt something so great for God that if He isn't in it, it is doomed to fail."
I'm not sure where I heard this, but I know I've heard it said many times. This is exactly where we are with our Statewide Swimsuit and Towel Drive. We are attempting to provide over 2800 of Alabama's foster children with a new swimsuit and towel embroidered with their name this spring. In each bag there is a card from BigHouse that tells the children not only are they loved by their community, they are loved unconditionally by a Heavenly Father. Our goal is to provide these children with a gift that has been made just for them, to show them how special they are to Him!
We know we can't do this alone. We need others to stand with us and support this drive. Not only do we still need donations, we need help from embroiderers. We need people who will commit to helping us make these towels so special for these children. We have heard over and over from different families how many of these children have NEVER had something with their name on it- NEVER had something that was made especially for them- maybe even NEVER had something that they could call their own.
I think most of us would admit that we don't know what it feels like to not have something that is our own. Something that no one else in the world can claim. I know growing up I had a blankie, clothes, toys, a bed, a bike, dolls, money, a car, and much more that I could call mine. Although I did share a lot with my siblings, there were things at my home with MY name on them. It is hard to imagine living in someone else's house, sleeping in someone else's bed, playing with someone else's toys, just waiting to be someone else's foster child. Their lives can be difficult to imagine and although we have wonderful foster parents who do their best to make these children feel comfortable and at home, it still isn't their home. These kids face issues of fear, confusion, disappointment, loss, grief, anger, and separation that most of us have never known. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to know how to help.
Sometimes it's easier to just ignore the issue of foster care all together and hope it goes away or hope you are never confronted with just how hard life can be for these kids. I'll admit, sometimes I get overwhelmed by the whole system and just want to forget about it. I don't want to lay in my bed at night and think about how over 500,000 children in the US are sleeping in a bed that is not their own tonight. I don't want to think about how there are close to 120,000 waiting to find a forever home. I don't want to think about the foster parents who, at that very moment, are holding, rocking, patting, or singing a crying child to sleep because that child feels scared and alone. BUT I do. I have to. Not because I am a good person, but because God is a GREAT God and he has given me a passion for children in foster care. And I am not alone. He has pressed the call of the foster child into more hearts than mine; into my husband Blake's, into our friend and BigHouse staffer Susannah's, into my parents, into families across our community who are doing foster care, into local churches, into area business owner's, and I believe into MANY more who have not yet answered the call. Some of those being called may be called to be foster parents, but the majority of us are not. We are not off the hook- we are called to be supporting those families and children ANY WAY WE CAN. We are the body of Christ and we need to wrap His arms around these families and kids and love on them.
How can we do this? How can we live out James 1:27 in America today? How can you, the average, hardworking citizen make a difference in the life of a foster child? You can start small. You can start with a swimsuit and embroidered towel. You can start by donating $25 to sponsor one child in this drive. You can make sure that one more child will receive something with their name on it, something they can call their own, something that tells them they are special. But you can, of course, do more than that. You can donate $100 for four children, or $1000 for 40 children. You can donate new towels or swimsuits. You can embroider towels with your machine. You can donate your machine to BigHouse for a week, a month, or forever. You can buy BigHouse another machine so we can do 2x as many next year. You can donate clothes to our clothes closet. You can donate new toys and gift cards for our birthday club. You can volunteer for our Kids' Night Outs. You can pay our rent for a month(or a year). You can volunteer to tutor. You can help us with quickbooks. You can donate a car, boat, motor home, trailer, etc. You can sponsor a family for our beach trip. You can come and clean our building. You can buy a t-shirt. You can do a lot or a little to help. But you can do something.
Pray about where you fit in the foster care system. Are you being called to be a foster family? Let us know and we can help you get connected to more resources. Want to support those already fostering? Call us, email us, come by, facebook us, tweet us, JUST GET IN TOUCH. We NEED you!
Want to know more about BigHouse- check out our website- www.ourbighouse.org.
Please don't quiet the call. Your life will be blessed.
-Micah Melnick
Founder and Director of BigHouse Foundation
