Ignite Your Spark
"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." ~ MaHatma GandHi
This powerful statement encourages individuals to take personal responsibility for creating the positive changes they desire, emphasizing that change starts from within.A follow up to my blog post from last Friday asking for help!
What a difference a week makes! Last Friday I awoke knowing that I had things to do! My friends had been fostering a child and had been informed that he would be removed from their home that day. They were given no reason except that it wasn’t a good fit.
When 8 am came…I started making phone calls to DSS and wrote a blog post asking everyone who felt called to help to do the same thing! The response was overwhelming! We decided to use social media and our voices to get this thing stopped. The idea that a child could be in a happy home for 5 months and then just removed and put somewhere else with no good reason just didn’t make sense and was heart breaking for the child and the foster parents.
The telephones at DSS were flooded because they received so many calls and the all of our social media posts were reposted…DSS was getting some really bad press because what they were trying to do was very bad and people were mad about it. Turns out it was one woman acting alone and when a light was shined on what was going on, thankfully, it was stopped. The child is now in his happy home and they are moving forward with his adoption. He is loved and wanted!
As with any child that has been in the foster care system, there has been trauma in his life and the road will most likely be a long one, but he will receive the help he needs and be completely loved along the way. This is a happy ending (or beginning).
But…what I have learned is that these kinds of situations happen every single day. Children are removed from foster homes where they have been happy and loved and abruptly taken somewhere else, having to start over again for no good reason.
It’s funny how life happens sometimes…just keep reading because this is leading somewhere!
I don’t know if any of you follow Michael Beckwith…he is a spiritual leader, author, and founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his inspirational teachings that integrate spiritual philosophy, personal growth, and social transformation. He teaches something called “Life Visioning” which is a process where, through meditation, you clarify your goals and aspirations in order to create a life filled with purpose. One of the questions asked in life visioning is “How can I serve"? Well here’s the crazy part…when you truly ask, you get an answer but you just never know how or what or when. I had been asking the question “how can I serve”? and I definitely found out through this whole situation.
I am educating myself about the foster care system and want to be part of a movement to change things for the children in the system. It is so broken and has to be fixed for the sake of our children and our country. The system encourages a cycle of mental health issues that is passed down for generations and these issues affect all of us, even if we don’t realize it.
While I don’t know just where this will lead, I will let it unfold and take action when I can. I’ll keep you posted as I learn more!
I was asked by DSS to take my blog post down after things were worked out and I did because it had served its purpose. So many of you left comments on the post and I wanted to let you know that things worked out for the best and…most of all I want to thank you for your love and concern and for taking action by making phone calls and saying prayers.
Things can change one person at a time, one phone call or letter or email at a time and one prayer at a time! One person taking action does matter!
I learned over the past week just how powerful social media can be! It was used for the greater good in this situation and for that I am grateful!
Thank you all so much!
~XOXO Suzanne