Wonderful Peter was on my blog, my advocacy blog, for a very long time. You see wonderful Peter was aging out and we needed to find his forever family quickly. Every week, I would put this sweet child on, along with his foster siblings David and Mary. Every week, I would say a silent little prayer that wonderful Peter, along with all those other wonderful children who were aging out, would finally find his family, would finally know the security needed to be able to persue all his hopes and dreams, would finally know the love of a family, a forever family. Every week, I would look at that sweet face and hope that his family was looking at that face too and having their hearts moved.
However, sadly, the first of May came and went, as did Peter's 14th birthday. He probably recieved a few gifts from his foster family but he did not recieve the one thing that he had hoped for the most, a family. Have you watched the videos of Peter and Mary and David?
You know, I had not, until I learned that he would not be coming home. Why had I not looked at them before? I don't know. I am busy, very busy but how I wish I had taken the time to watch even one of these videos. Maybe I could have advocated for him better had I watched - they make him so much more than just a picture of a sweet faced young boy. My heart broke and the tears flowed as I watched sweet David, knowing he has a family that will be bringing him home and beautiful Mary who still waits for her forever family to find her and wonderful Peter who would have to say good bye to his friend David in a few months, understanding that they may never meet again. My heart broke as I watched the joy in Peter's face and the hope...
I wonder what his face reveals now and my heart breaks again.
The very best part of my weekly advocacy posts was always announcing the precious children who had found their forever families and were coming home. It hurts to think of those who will never be coming home but I think it is important to sometimes see these beautiful faces and remember that everyday another child ages out and that they are real children who have real dreams and real heartache.
I think about Peter and I think about ALL of the wonderful kids like Peter, who will never, ever know the love of a forever family and again, my heart breaks.
No one can give Peter the family that he so wanted for his 14th birthday, but I am hoping we might be able to give him something, something to let him know that there are families out there who are thinking about him and praying for him.
My wonderful friend, Marjorie, wrote to me one day last week and asked if we might be able to raise enough money to send wonderful Peter a belated birthday gift, a small something that will show that even though he did not find his forever family, there are familes who love him.
So for today's Sunday Snapshot, I am asking that if you feel led to help, you might consider sending a donation to Marjorie's paypal with the instruction that it is to be used for Peter's bday present. If you don't know Marjorie and her beautiful family, please go here to check out her blog and her wonderful family. Marjorie and her family brought home precious Noah, who was Peter's younger foster brother and are now working hard to bring home beautiful Josie who is also Peter's younger foster sister!!! Marjorie knows this foster home and knows that this present will get to Peter and knows that he will love the gift but more than that, love the fact that there are families who are thinking about him on his birthday. You can email me at 5puppies@comcast.net or Marjorie at mtahmom@gmail.com to get her paypal addrerss.
I also ask that you remember beautiful Mary
who is very close to, like Peter, loosing her chance for a family - forever. Please keep her in your prayers.
I know that it is Mother's Day and I probably should have posted something a bit more uplifting, but these children, this child, who will never know the love of a Mother weigh so heavy on my heart.
I do want to close this post with a little something that MY awesome Mother found and sent to me:
Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep
Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom
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