Journey Bags

Journey Bags

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.

Ephesians 5:1-2

I have a sweet friend with a heart for foster care. Even before she and her husband began taking tiny babies into their home to care for them alongside their own children, she went out of her way to support foster parents and children. She even made freezer meals for my sister, who was a busy foster mom for many years.

One day, as we were chatting about organizations that could benefit from the help of our small women’s group, she told us about The Forgotten Initiative, an organization that seeks to aid and support foster parents and children. One of their projects is providing “Journey Bags”—new backpacks filled with age-appropriate pajamas, books, and care items—to foster children entering a new home.

After hearing my friend’s stories about how many foster care children arrive at their new homes with very few items, often hastily thrown into plastic shopping bags, I couldn’t help but compare their circumstances to those of my own children. Sure, my girls love to lug around backpacks, but they are filled with Care Bears, not clothes. My daughters have stable lives and are never worried about what they might wear, what they’ll eat, or where they will live. In the midst of my own comfort, my heart aches for the upheaval many children face.

And so, together in our pursuit to “live a life filled with love,” this group of women agreed to gather items to put into backpacks. Throughout the week, I picked up some of my favorite children’s books; warm, cozy pajamas; and teething toys. Then one Saturday morning we gathered together to fill up rows of backpacks with items for the children in our community, praying that our small effort would help smooth their transitions.

—Kristin

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Think of one thing you can do for the children in your community—whether it’s helping a single mom with childcare or volunteering in your church’s nursery—and then do it.