Fostering love: 74 babies and counting

In safe arms

I recently tuned in to a TV talk show about two young women who had been abandoned at birth. One had been left in a paper bag, discovered in an alleyway by two teenagers. A neighbour said it was a miracle the baby had been found and saved. Both of the women were initially placed in foster care.

The woman who had been left in a paper bag summed up the most basic needs of any child. ‘Every child deserves to be in safe arms,’ she said, repeating this several times throughout the show. She also emphasised her determination that a difficult start in life did not define who she was, nor did it define what her future would be.

Every child deserves to be in safe arms. It’s apparent that New Zealand has a serious problem in relation to the safety and security of children. Too many New Zealand children are neglected or harmed in the very places where they have every right to be safe: their own homes. We all need to work together to find a solution to this shame.

Every child deserves to be in safe arms. There are all sorts of reasons why children may not be able to stay with their family of origin, either for a season or permanently. But when a child’s home life starts off so badly that they cannot remain there, or their later family life becomes dysfunctional and it is in the child’s best interests to be removed, foster parents can be called upon to help make a better way forward.

Thank God for those foster parents—people like Raewyn and Ian McLaren (whose story of fostering babies is told in this week’s feature)—who give either short or long-term care to help vulnerable and precious children. After reading Raewyn and Ian’s experiences, perhaps a few readers might even consider offering themselves for this important service?

Major Christina Tyson

Bible Verse

Galatians 5:13 The Message
‘… use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself.’

Karatia 5:13
‘Kua karangatia nei hoki koutou, e ōku tēina, ki te tikanga herekore; kaua ia tā koutou tikanga herekore e waiho hei whakaoho i te kikokiko, engari me mahi koutou tētahi ki tētahi i runga i te aroha.’