We've Been Preparing For This
At 2:34 PM today my cell phone rang as I drove through downtown Tacoma. It was Amber, and I could tell from her tone that there was something that she was excited to tell me about.A social worker had just called and let her know that there was a baby boy who was a few days old and being released from the hospital and in need of a foster family. I continued to drive down the road, listening to her words and trying to allow them to sink in.Only a few days prior had we received our official foster care license, and we knew a call like this could come at any moment.And that moment was now."So, what do you think?", she asked. A few seconds passed as I prayed silently and just listened.And then she said, "We've been preparing for this."[quote align="center" color="#999999"]"We've been preparing for this."[/quote]Five words. Significant words. True words. Powerful words.Over the past year we have been on a journey of prayer, learning and listening. And talking...and thinking. Fostering was something that had never really been on our radar. But for some reason, we couldn't shake what Jesus seemed to be saying to us.What do we do? How do we know? Can we actually even DO this? How do we even prepare for something like this?Here are a couple simple things we are learning:PREPARATION IS A PROCESS We started to take simple steps toward what we were sensing in our hearts. The challenge with preparation is that it doesn't just arrive. It is a process - a walk of faith.The first step to being prepared for whatever it is that God is asking you to do? Take a step.WE GET TO LIVE OUT THE GOSPEL The reality of The Gospel has been preparing us for this. We were welcomed in and adopted into God's family through His great and generous love for us. Jesus made room for us. We get to make room for others.LISTEN AND TRUST You will never know every answer. For Jesus followers, we are called to walk by faith - "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." If God is calling you to something that seems beyond your comfort zone, get comfortable with learning to listen. And when He speaks, trust Him.We are just beginning this new chapter with a new addition of a little baby boy. We honestly don't know where it is going to all end up. I do know this, being prepared is a process, we have the opportunity to live out the Gospel, and we will do our best to listen and to trust.We've been preparing for this.