We are grateful that God has called many Waypoint members to be foster parents, and to support foster parents and children in foster care. We are also grateful that many children have been adopted into Waypoint families. In the past year we saw an international adoption, foster care placements, reunification of a children in foster care with birth family, a family in the last steps of adopting their two foster children, a member committing to being a Guardian ad Litem, three Waypoint members completing their foster parent training, and one couple receiving the final approval to adopt a second child through international adoption. This is in addition to the adoptions, reunifications, and support we have already seen over the years. We, as a community, are so blessed!
As we think about both the joys and the challenges that come with foster care and adoption, here is a prayer us as we pray for these children and families:
Lord, we know and acknowledge that adoption and foster care both begin with loss. First, we pray for the hearts of these precious children waiting for forever families, in transition, or at home in a family already. We pray that they will know how much they are loved by their biological families, by those currently caring for them, by their parents, and by You. Please give them a sense of comfort and security, and we pray that they would ultimately know You and your boundless love. Please give the parents and caretakers strength, and may they rest in You and show Your love well to these precious children.
For those parents in the adoption process, Lord, the path of adoption can be long and challenging, filled with waiting, uncertainties, and emotional highs and lows–please grant them strength to persevere through the waiting seasons, knowing that You are with them in every moment. May they find endurance in Your love and peace, even when the journey is difficult.
We pray for the birth parents who have made the courageous decision to entrust their child into the arms of another. Lord, we pray that your boundless love surrounds and embraces these birth parents. May they experience the depth of Your protective care. May they feel the comforting presence of your Spirit, assuring them that they are seen and not alone.
We pray for those involved in the foster care process. Please comfort the children, the biological parents, the agency workers, and the foster parents as they make challenging adjustments. Father, we know that children in foster care experience confusion, trauma, and fear as their lives are turned upside down. Comfort them, hold them close as only You can. May they experience love, peace, and security.
God, we pray for their biological families. You know their circumstances, their hurts, their needs, their hearts- you also know deeply what they need. God, we pray for the biological families that they would have access to the resources they need to experience help, hope, and healing. Please bring loving communities around them that will support them.
Lord, we pray for encouragement and strength for the foster parents within our communities. Please give them understanding, patience, and grace as they open their homes and families to children in need. Renew their energy and hope so they can continue in their important role. Give them wisdom to know when they need to rest, and when to persevere. When they feel weak, may they rely on You for strength. Would you often bring them to the minds of those in our community, to offer them support through prayer, and in tangible ways as well.
Father, we pray for the safety and emotional health of agency workers on the front lines as they come face-to-face with difficult situations. Give them the strength to overcome discouragement and burnout. Restore their hope and peace. Help them understand the deep impact they have in the lives of children and families on a weekly basis. Lord, we pray that the judges who preside over these cases would have eyes to see the best solutions to bring about safety and restoration. We pray for clarity amid circumstances that can be so confusing. We pray for empathy to give grace for complexity.
For all these families, children and workers, please help them to find courage in Your unfailing love. Remind us all that You are with us every step of the way, guiding our path, and providing the strength we need. And we look forward to the day when you will make all things new, and brokenness and hurt will be no more. May we all journey on in hope towards that day. Amen.
