God Uses All of It
At Summit, we often talk about “being the hands and feet of Jesus” by serving those around us in tangible ways. A year and a half ago, we began to focus on intentionally supporting kids in vulnerable circumstances by wrapping around foster families and partnering with local schools.
One of the main ways Summit does this is through Care Communities, which are groups that walk alongside foster families both in emotional support and prayer as well as in practical ways, such as bringing meals and babysitting.
In the past month, though, a global pandemic has changed the way we do church, which begs the question, “If part of being the Church means serving those around us, how do we do that when we’ve been asked to stay home? How can we be the hands and feet of Jesus to others when we’re supposed to stay six feet away from them?” Many of our regular routines and activities have been suspended during this season, but a foster family can’t press pause on caring for the kids in their home. In fact, as kids are home full-time from school and other activities, foster kids need the love and support of adults in their lives more than ever. No one knows that better than foster moms like Jackie and Shannon. And no one knows better than the Care Communities walking alongside Jackie and Shannon that social distancing doesn’t have to stop us from loving our neighbors.
Jackie’s home is full of life, laughter, energy, and her kids. When she got the social worker’s call asking if her brother’s three kids could come and stay with her, Jackie was already a hardworking single mom raising her own 15-year-old and 9-year-old. But she was quick to say yes.
Soon after her brother’s 13-year-old, 9-year-old, and 6-year-old came to live with Auntie Jackie and their cousins and they began adjusting to their new lives, the whole world adjusted regular routines while news headlines focused on the global pandemic. As schools moved to distance learning, stay-at-home orders were announced, and jobs became uncertain, Jackie’s household adapted to new normals as well. Like most people, they’re still figuring out their for-now normals. Jackie is learning how to do school at home with five kids spanning elementary, middle, and high school while meeting their specific learning needs, and the kids are finding ways to complete online assignments while sharing devices.
Since Jackie’s job has been put on hold during this season, she’s had to learn new depths of leaning on God to provide for her family. She shared, “When I know that I can’t do much, I just sit here and ask God, ‘What do I do next?’” It’s at those key times that Jackie has seen God show up in big ways.
Jackie has often seen God come through for her family using people around her. This time, it came through a Care Community. Lisa, who leads this Care Community, explains that the role of a Care Community is to walk with others in their journey through foster care. She says simply, “It’s about getting to know families in a very ordinary way, and offering very ordinary help that counts.”
For Lisa, participating in a Care Community during this season just makes sense. When her job made the switch to working from home during social distancing, she found herself with some available time. As she and her Care Community got to know Jackie, they found practical ways to support her while honoring social distancing. By ordering simple, ready-to-prepare meals and groceries through Instacart, the Care Community is able to take some things off Jackie’s plate without leaving their homes. Jackie, in turn, is able to focus her attention on spending time with the five kids God has called her to love extra hard right now.
Across town, another Care Community has been walking alongside Shannon, who is caring for three children. Before beginning her journey as a foster parent, Shannon was already a loving, hardworking single mom of a sweet little boy named Tristan. However, fostering had long been on her heart and, after discussing the idea with 5-year-old Tristan, they welcomed two new children around Tristan's age into their home.
Hannah, a Care Community team leader, first met Shannon earlier this year and was excited for her Care Community to come alongside Shannon and her family. Before the rest of Hannah’s group had a chance to meet Shannon and the kids, the stay-at-home order was announced, and their group realized they would need to adapt what Care Communities typically look like. Hannah and Shannon decided to make a Zoom call happen so that everyone could meet. Shannon remembers that the kids loved the attention of getting to introduce themselves and tell the group their favorite foods.
During that conversation, Tristan’s upcoming birthday was mentioned. Hannah’s group began wondering if they could do something to help the family celebrate at home. When Hannah’s Care Community came to drop off a special birthday meal, they surprised the family with a present for Tristan. The Care Community had also brainstormed birthday celebration ideas with Shannon and came up with an idea for Tristan’s friends to drop off birthday cards on the doorstep. Tristan later told Shannon that even though he had to stay home on his birthday this year, it was a really fun and special birthday.
As COVID-19 has affected everything in kids’ normal routines, from school to soccer practice, Shannon has creatively found ways to bring fun experiences home—like when she rented a water slide as their at-home entertainment. At the same time, she’s juggling the phone and online meetings that make up much of the lives of foster parents, constantly cooking for and cleaning up after the young kids, and doing school at home with three kids with varying backgrounds of support. Hannah’s group has been able to support Shannon with simple, practical things like making grocery store runs, picking up a prescription at the pharmacy, and having dinner delivered. Not having to worry about running to the grocery store or making one of the meals allows Shannon to focus on what she does better than anyone else: loving her three kids like crazy, calling out their gifts and potential, and celebrating the ways she’s seen them grow.
Hannah and her group are excited to get to know each of these incredible kids and their individual personalities better once social distancing protocol allows them to help Shannon with more. For now, Hannah’s group gets the gift of seeing those three smiling faces waving at them from the door when they drop off groceries and meals.
Social distancing has meant that Shannon’s and Jackie’s families and Hannah’s and Lisa’s Care Communities adapted the way they connect. For Hannah and Lisa, it’s meant being good listeners and asking, “How can I help?” Although connecting might look different during this season, Jackie, Shannon, and their Care Communities have found that even when they’re six feet apart, God can combine a foster mom’s capacity to love her kids well with a Care Community’s capacity to do simple, practical things.
And really, that’s how the body of Christ works: As each of us does our part, God uses all of it to make something beautiful. In the end, we all get the blessing of seeing God use our little to do something big.
We are committed to support the systems, structures, and relationships that reach and serve vulnerable children in our city. One way we are doing so is by coming alongside those involved with the Foster Care System. Join us for a Care Community Orientation this Thursday, May 7th at 7 p.m. online via Zoom where you’ll learn more about how to specifically serve and get connected with a foster family. Sign up and find more information here.
Mollie Mitchell has been attending Summit for 13 years and is on staff as the Children’s Ministry elementary groups coordinator. For two of those years, she was living in Malawi as an education consultant for Children of the Nations. Mollie was also a teacher for 10 years, and she loves writing to middle schoolers and getting to know their hearts through their writing. She also enjoys ballet, modern dance, and spending time with her family in the Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains.