I’m going to go out on a limb here and do something not many people do.  BE VULNERABLE.  Last night the family was watching the Justin Bieber movie.  Had heard lots about it but had not had a chance to see it.  I thought it was interesting that his career began because of YouTube.  All because he put himself out there in social media and one thing chain reacted to another and well there you go.  I must admit Dave and I laughed most at the crazy girls even younger than Emma who were totally Bieber crazy.  I mean really?  But all that to say, I think sometimes it’s good to be vulnerable.  To put yourself out there in places like the social media and other outlets because it’s really just another way to share your life with others.  And just maybe if we shared our journey’s more with each other and our joys and our struggles we face in life would be richer and more rewarding.

So the vulnerable part… A few weeks ago I was sitting at a pool with the kids and this young girl comes up to me and starts a conversation about my children.  I seriously never think about the fact that our family LOOKS a bit different than most.  I know it does but I just don’t think that way. It’s not until random conversations that I actually am reminded.  But she was wondering if all the kids were mine.  I shared a bit about our family dynamic and Frankie’s story a bit and then all of a sudden she began to share her story that went a bit like this ….

“I’m a foster kid.  I’ve been a foster kid for three years now.  I’ve been with the same family for the whole time so at least I’ve just been in one place. My parents rights were recently taken away so now I can be adopted. My foster mom doesn’t want to adopt kids.  She just fosters us. So now I’m working with my social worker getting my profile together.  And then the words that have been haunting me now ever since our conversation.  She goes on to say these words to me “I  hope to have a family one day and that someone will want to adopt me.”

My moment of vulnerability… WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THAT?

I’ve NEVER had a moment when another Child at an age of understanding looked at me and basically shared one of the most fundamental human needs.  “I need a family, I hope someone will adopt me.” She just said that to the wrong person.  Well the right person for that matter.  My world has been rocked.  I’ve had a flood of questions that I am asking myself and that our family is asking each other.  For me, you can’t walk away from a conversation and need like that and wish someone well or hope for the best and go on your way.  Life, Mission, Community, Family, the Kingdom of God does not work that way.  I don’t know what my role will be in this childs life, but I do say that no matter what happens the Rhodes family has been made aware and we are now hopefully a Catalyst of Change for this little girls life.

Often Dave and I both get asked if we are going to adopt again.  To be honest I don’t really have an answer to that.  We don’t really have any plans to but then again, it’s not really a yes or no answer. I think we both think our family is full for us and we are living probably at our maximum capacity for kids and travel and all that we feel our lives are called to.  BUT, we also know that our lives are not our own and it would be silly for either of us to say that we would never adopt again.  In the call to live a life in Covenant and Kingdom.. In that realm anything is possible.  It will always be possible.

And for this little girl in a world that has been very unfair to her.. I hope she knows that anything is possible for her as well.  I think it’s going to be exciting to see how her story unfolds.

I think many of us often have these Kairos moments in life where in a second things change.  Life as you know it is no longer the same.  This was a kairos moment for me. I’m not sure what question you’ve been asked lately or what someone has shared with you that has left you shaken.  But maybe, just maybe you’ll find yourself vulnerable enough to ask yourself and the community that surrounds you.. “What do I do with that?”