Majesty means the greatness and dignity of a sovereign; the sovereignty and power of God; supreme authority or power. Omnipotence means having unlimited or universal power, authority, or force; all-powerful. (Taken from Free Online Dictionary)
In February of 2011, at the table where Kid Fest: Coming Together In Love was created there were gathered ministers who wanted to do something meaningful for families especially innocent children who live in poverty. That something meaningful needed to reflect the love of Christ. Some of the concerns that led to this were regarding the disparity between the socio-economic levels that exist within our area. In our various fields of work, we observe how those living in poverty can be disconnected from the life of the community and live on the fringes where life is unstable as it constantly changes with little control. Many are single-parent families where poverty is felt the deepest. Statistics show that typically the head of these households are women. According to the latest Missouri Kids Count Report the number of children living in single-parent families went from 32% to 35% and from 5% to 9% (almost double) living in high poverty areas.
Today, one minimum-wage income for some families is not enough. If you live in a community where jobs are scarce, you most likely will live in public housing and depend on food stamps, medic-aid and TANF – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. If you have a disability you could be receiving Supplemental Security Income or SSI. This can run between $600 and $800 per month. This may sound sufficient but trying to live on it is very difficult. Having a vehicle is a luxury. In this typical scenario, when you have finally stabilized your income, your housing and your children in school, then you most likely will have to deal with homeless out of work friends who typically want to live with you. I present this average scenario based on the cases of the hundreds of families over the last ten years I have helped. As this picture unfolds, stability begins to diminish. This once marginally stable household can attract people with drug problems, sexual predators and abusive individuals looking to victimize someone. Now the children are at great risk. In this out-of-control world they settle into a survival state. Eventually there is a critical mass: When something reaches the threshold of it’s limits. This can apply to things, people, events, or concepts. (Free Online Dictionary)
Someone who cares or who just wants to see you in trouble hotlines this unraveling situation to the Child Protection Service and an intervention occurs. The children may be left in the home with services in place or if conditions are severe taken into state custody and placed in foster care.
It is at this point that programs like Christos House step in to provide services that will help this family. Here is where the love of Christ is most desperately needed if it hasn’t yet been introduced into their life, at least to the degree that was needed to keep them from making the bad choices that has brought them to this point.
New behaviors must be learned for the purpose of making better choices and this can only come through a relationship built on trust and respect which takes time. It is only possible when they feel that someone cares about them and wants to help them, maybe for the first time in their lives. If this intervention is to be successful, much of it will be because they love their children.
When the intervention takes place in the life of this family in crisis, it is a time of extreme stress, painful learning, personal reflection and most of all, change. When a child is removed from an already financially marginal home, most of the state funding is removed with them. Part of the written service agreement with Children’s Division is that they must have a job as well as make all the appointments required. These may include a therapist, a drug and alcohol program with their own counselors and support groups, a parenting teacher, the case worker, a public defender and supervised visitation with the children. It’s very difficult for the client to keep a job that will allow her or him to miss work so much of the time. If the parent can’t meet what’s expected of them, as they watch their life gradually crash and burn, they may have to give up their children. Studies have shown that children who are removed from the home and not returned are impacted in negative ways.
It can be at this juncture where and when service programs are making an intervention that members of the community can become part of the solution.
In the Old Testament there is a reference in Deuteronomy 25 that refers to a battle with the Amelikites, some of Israel’s enemies in Exodus 17. God reminds them of how they failed to take care and protect the ones in the “hindmost” and consequently they were attacked. As I researched this reference I found that the tribe of Judah was to lead the Israelite warriors into battle and the tribe of Dan was in charge of taking care of those who lagged behind, probably the elderly and women and children who couldn’t keep up. In the Hebrew language there is a word that fits the painful cry for help as must have been the case in this incident. The word is “ze’ahkah”.
Ze’ahkah “The righteous cried, and Jehovah heard, and delivered them out of all their troubles.” Psalms 34:17
Isaiah speaks of Jesus Christ and how fair He will be with those who cry out for help because of their circumstances: Isaiah 11: 3-5 “He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will never judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay. He will defend the poor and the exploited. . . He will be clothed with fairness and truth.”
I am grateful to individuals, churches and civic organizations who in my experience have stepped in to help where they can. It can be taking the client to the many provider appointments. It can be having fundraisers to support non-profit programs like Christos House that do this work. It can be prayers for families who live on the fringes of our communities. The best outcome will happen as we all work together doing what we are able to do. “Teach us, Lord, to do the little things as though they were great. . . “
Many of the clients I work with were molested as children (more than 50%) and raised in a home of violence and drug abuse. The odds are so high against these individuals making a good parent and member of the community, that it is always refreshing to work with those who turn out well in spite of their parents. County law enforcement officials report 50-75% of the cases in their county are related to domestic violence. There is a great deal of negative fallout that goes beyond the dysfunctional family into the life of the community with statistics as high as this.
So now, why Kid Fest: Coming Together In Love? It began as a “little thing”. An annual three-hour event on a hot August afternoon in the Ozarks seems abysmally small in its impact it could have in the face of the extreme conditions that must exist in so many homes in our counties, but if we do this little thing like it’s a great thing, the outcome will be something beyond anything we ever imagined.
On August 24, 2013, every effort was taken to see that even the smallest detail was considered to make this a wonderful day for parents and their children coming from all over Texas and Wright counties and I’m sure beyond. Beautiful five-foot in diameter paper suns, two with our Kid Fest logo as the face of the sun, were hung in the dining room for the families to write their names on the multicolored rays. The concrete floors had been mopped and the kitchen and bathrooms clean and ready to go. Bright new tablecloths placed on all the tables the city crew had brought for us to use. Sweet home grown melons were cut and chilled and fresh pastry staged for serving. Cars began to fill the parking lot early and people respectfully lined up waiting. Many told me they had come early for the flag-raising. The motivation of all the providers which number around 150 who give up their Saturday to come in the heat can only be described as “love”. It quickly became an afternoon of fun and food. I watched a little girl reach into an ice chest filled with “push ups” ice cream and take one in each hand. No one told her to put one back, as it was okay- it’s Kid Fest! People in the lines for food and the games were patient even in the hot sun. When the event wound down to a close and everyone just faded away to their homes with their prizes and stories to tell, we looked around and found hardly any trash to pick up. To me, it was their silent way of saying “We noticed how much you care about us, Thank You”.
Several parents came up to me and other organizers to personally tell us how good this event is and how much they look forward to it every year. This “little thing” has become great because the majesty of Christ who lives through it is great. Kid Fest: Coming Together In Love is beginning to symbolize something very special in this area. Many are getting the strong message that God is love and he can be found anywhere his servants are at work doing small things well in his name for the greater good. Truly the outcome has been beyond anything that we who created this event could have ever imagined.
In our communities there are those who fit the “ze’akah” condition, who are lagging behind, many for reasons beyond their control – be it poverty, abuse, mental illness, disability, poor immature choices , an unfortunate chain of circumstances or just apathy in those who had an opportunity to help at a crucial point but chose not to. The most important part of God’s plan to help them is you and me. Each giving the sweet, living water as Christ did throughout His journey is “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” until He returns.
What a difference acts of love and kindness, small and great, make in our communities.
This chapter of Sweetwater Journey from Volume One was published in the Houston Herald in 2014. With “Kid Fest: Coming Together in Love 2015” coming up on Aug. 22, Foster said once again the issues within her writing are still very important today.
Teach us, Lord,
to do the little things
as though they were great
because of the majesty of Christ
who does them in us
and who lives our life.
Teach us to do the greatest things
as though they were little and easy
because of His omnipotence. Amen