For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; Matthew 25:35
Food was a low priority in our lives the two years before we became Barnetts. This wasn't our choice, but it was a consequence of Aunt Betty's disease. I can remember starting first grade and eating lunch. To me, school lunch was Five Star!
One of the blessing of becoming a Barnett was food! Breakfast, lunch, supper, snacks, roast on Sundays -- Otta Mae Barnett could cook! And there was always plenty of food. One of my older sisters (by adoption) remarked one time that she was amazed at how much we could eat.
Everything my mom cooked I loved! Turnip greens, blackeyed peas, sweet potatoes -- you name it, I would eat it. We also had beef. My dad was in a cattle related businesses, so we always had a side of beef in the freezer. I never met a meal I didn't like.
Over the years I have heard many different speakers talk about how blessed we are in America. "No one in this audience knows what it is like to go to bed hungry." And then the speaker would talk about some third world nation's enormous problems with starvation due to famines and wars. My heart, prayers, and money goes out to those who are starving throughout the world; and yes we are blessed in America.
It is correct to say that I do not know what it is like to be starving, but I do know what it like to go to bed hungry. I know what it is like to search for food. When we were picked up by the Barnett's, my youngest sister was malnourished.
I am sure there are still children going to bed hungry each night in America because of neglect. No child in America should go to bed with an aching stomach, but I know that there mothers who are too drunk or high to take care of their children's needs. The ultimate question may be, "Where are the fathers?" (This is a much broader and complex issue than this particular blog addresses).
Praise God for those who are searching, finding, and feeding these children.
About Me
- David Michael
- Katy, Texas, United States
- Being a husband and a father is the greatest blessing in my life. I am also a Special Educator to students with an autism spectrum disorder.
5 comments:
Yeah, my Dad lied about his age and joined the Marines when he was 15. To this day, I'm convinced the reason Daddy was a patriot is that on the first day he was a Marine, they gave him a huge piece of beef. He said he thought he was in Heaven. :)
Wow. Thank you for sharing so openly from your heart about your experiences. We are in the final stages of preparationf for adopting through the foster care system in Texas. Although we are not adopting an older child (over the age of 3) at this time, there is such a place in my heart for these kids that I hope we will someday be able to do just that. We do hope and pray that we will be able to adopt a sibling group of two, we want to help them stay together. Anyway, enough about me...just thanks, so much, for your blog.
Cindy,
Congratultions! Your plans are very exciting. Praise God!
Thank you for your very kind comments. It has been a very interesting experience sharing things that I have never shared before on my blog.
Many in the adoption community consider a 1 year old an older child adoption and even younger when you consider attachment issues. Many experts consider the age of 2 as an older child (see Older Child Adoption by Grace Robinson).
Regardless, even infant adoptees have have special needs! A great website to check out is www.adoptionjewels.org
Inspriring.
we came to know a young boy about two years ago who was adopted at the age of 9 months (well that is when he came to live with the couple) we had a 9 month old at the time so it upset me greatly when we learned that at 9 months he could go to the refrigerator and open it and get his own food. He would sit in the floor of the kitchen and eat out of whatever he found. He HAD to learn this to survive in his previous home.
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