YOUR WAY

"Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen." Psalm 77:19

“What’s that process like?” I am asked often when sharing about our foster babies.  The reality is – there is no set process, each case is different – it’s a walk in the dark where anything could be right around the corner. It’s hard to box our story up so I can explain it to people, even to reassure myself sometimes!   And, when something gets hard I start asking myself what could or should we have done differently? Even…were we supposed to foster at all?  

According to this scripture, His way is through the “great waters,” not a short refreshing swim as we would like – but – hard, cold, and unpredictable.  His goal is relationship – not our security, not a perfect family, not success, not even good decision making…just us taking it all to Him.

And even more….the verse says His footprints are “unseen.” I want so badly to go to Him and hear the exact game plan, but if He told us the plan we wouldn’t have to rely on Him.  We are on a journey learning to walk in faith, not making decisions based on comfort, reason, investment, or familiarity.  Foster care is “risky” and “hard” and straight up “uncomfortable” sometimes but it is exactly where the Lord has led our family, for His glory.

These paintings started with layers of color, drawing, painting, scrapping, and dripping to represent all the events in life – hard, wonderful, mundane.  Then, I added the Lord at work at the top – moving the landscape, watering the valleys, before and behind all of it.  He is always there, always good, always at work. Sometimes, all we can see is the mess we are in and the blank canvas below, unsure where to step.  But, keep your eyes up, my friend! He is surely at work even in THIS!