As a family, we have fostered children for many years. Every time a child or young person has come into our home and family, it’s filled me with joy as I, in a sense, gain another sibling through fostering. Each one has brought so much to our lives, and each one has left an impression on me. Something that always strikes me is the potential I can see in them. From the youngest to the oldest, I’ve seen gifts, passions, abilities, interests, stories that just make them who they are.
One child loved to dance, and would learn routines from some of his favourite artists. Another loved writing and storytelling as he wrote stories about families, robots and superheroes. One of the little girls was just full of compassion as she showed care and kindness to all her friends and loved to play with them at the park after school.
It was incredibly moving for me to see that the caring environment we tried our best to offer them allowed them to explore and grow in these things. And actually, that really challenged me. I realised that so often, I fail to embrace my own potential. I’m a bit apathetic towards the gifts and passions that God has instilled in me. Maybe I don’t think enough about how I could use these things to bless people around me. There have been times wherein I’ve failed to encourage others to realise their own potential, too.
In Ephesians 2:10, it says that we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The AMP version adds that we’re a work of art. When I think of an artist creating a masterpiece, I think of care and attention, focus on the tiny beautiful details. God has poured His creativity into making us who we are, with all of our gifts and stories and abilities and interests. And those things are there to be used for ‘good works’.
What if we, as God’s carefully created children, were better at seeing the beauty and potential in one another? What if we were to notice it, acknowledge it, foster and nurture the beauty and potential we know is within the children and young people in our communities? What if we were to build one another up and encourage one another so that we might see that beauty and potential shine even brighter?
Let’s allow these questions to fuel our prayers this month, particularly as we turn our focus to children and young people in care in the UK. Let’s pray that each of these carefully created works of art will find themselves in environments where they are offered stability and felt-safety that will allow them to explore who they are, and where they will be supported and encouraged to thrive.
Naomi Thompson, Administrative Assistant
What if we, as God’s carefully created children, were better at seeing the beauty and potential in one another? What if we were to notice it, acknowledge it, foster and nurture the beauty and potential we know is within the children and young people in our communities? What if we were to build one another up and encourage one another so that we might see that beauty and potential shine even brighter?
Take some card or paper, or any other craft supplies you might have around the house, and cut out some star shapes. Be as creative as you like – you might want to cute out stars of different sizes, perhaps you want to decorate them with colours, glitter or stickers. This could be a particularly lovely activity to do with any children in your home!
Think about the different people in your life, and the special things that make them who they are. Consider the gifts, abilities, passions, stories and opportunities they have that are unique. Think prayerfully about the potential for these things to be used for good.
Write a prayer on a star for this individual. Repeat as many times as you like for different people in your life!
You might want to give this star to the person you’ve been praying for. Alternatively, you could add some string or ribbon and hang it up in your home as a reminder of the beautiful potential in each and every one of us, and use it as a nudge to pray over the course of this month!
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