I got a call on a Thursday morning from Safe Families for Children: “Hello, Jana? We have a three-month-old baby who needs placed today. Can you take him?” ….. “Yes, I think we can! But let me call and check with my husband. I’ll call you back right away.” ….. Just three minutes later: “Hello again! We can take him! Just let me know when you have the details.” Around 2:00 p.m. I found out we would need to be there at 4:30 p.m. Our schooling plans for the afternoon quickly shifted. The kids helped straighten up the house. We pulled baby stuff out of storage. Since Bryce was working, all five kids came with me to pick-up our new addition. I didn’t realize it would take about an hour to go through all of the paperwork, but the kids waited quietly for the most part (so proud of them) and we left that apartment around 6:00 p.m. with a sweet baby boy.
When I was feeding him a bottle late that night, a phrase suddenly came to me: a “yes” frame of mind. How did this all happen so fast? Why was I ready so quickly to say “yes, we will”? I think it’s because a few weeks ago I already decided I was going to say yes. When the next call came for a baby placement, I was ready. (I think Bryce is always ready, so it’s he who so kindly and patiently waits until I am ready too, and then we say “yes” together. Always together, a team.)
When it comes to caring for children from hard places, the luxury of time for pro/con lists or hours in your prayer closet or a couple of weeks to mull it over just doesn’t usually happen. There is very little deliberating time. When a child needs help, it’s often today and right now and come quickly. How can we see the need and be ready to respond? We can develop a “yes” frame of mind way before the ask ever comes.
Step 1. Leave some margin. If we’re too busy for a “yes” to Jesus’ least of these, then may I suggest we might be a little too busy? I try to leave margin in my life so that when a child needs help–today, right now–I am available and ready to say “yes.” But on the other hand, sometimes a “yes” means that we just invite others into our full lives and then the margin creates itself. When this baby boy arrived, some things went out the window (i.e. we cut the school day short!); otherwise he just joined our family’s schedule. True, I got a little less sleep. Bryce and I had a third wheel for our dinner out. Can we sacrifice the cleaning schedule (the floors didn’t get mopped that first week) and work his feedings into our school routine and pull out the double stroller for baseball games? Sure we can.
Step 2. Decide beforehand. Make your decision way before the actual call comes. Sure, you can have parameters. We think a baby is best for us in this season–preferably one who’s not mobile yet. So I most likely wouldn’t have said “yes” to a call about a three-year-old or twelve-year-old. Parameters are helpful when discerning what is wise during certain seasons. But be careful! God sometimes (i.e. often) likes to mess with our pre-decided boxes for Him to work within. Set parameters with trusting prayer and flexibility for whatever God has up His sleeve. Whatever the case, decide when an opportunity comes, you have already said “yes” and your frame of mind is set.
Step 3. Take a swift step. Just do it. Don’t deliberate. Do the brave, courageous thing and say it out loud and right away: “Yes, we will!” I’ve found that if I take too long to actually think it over, then all of the practical and realistic reasons to say “no, not this time” come crowding into my head. Sometimes waiting and deliberating can make it harder to see where God might be leading. There will always be readily apparent reasons to say “no” and the scary/crazy/unknown “yes” can quickly fade from memory. So oftentimes a “yes” to God can look like a quick prayer, a deep sense of trust, and then a willingness to just move forward with swift steps.
You might be amazed by how much peace and excitement come flooding in after your “yes.”
Our sweet baby visitor is such a joy, despite all of the schedule hiccups and extra stress.
It is a joy to serve Jesus with a “yes” frame of mind.
Amen, thank you for sharing this story Jana. Kind, brave and humble… And Jesus certainly fills in our gaps.
Oh yes, He does do some amazing filling-in! Thank you for reading! Love, Jana