Do foster parents pass by? Or, stop and help? Recently, Caroline Nash, a seven-year foster parent who has been with Agape since 2017, stopped and helped.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells the story of a man who is beaten, robbed, and left half dead. Two men walk past him, ignoring his needs. A third man—a stranger and an enemy— stops, tends the man’s wounds, and takes him to a safe place. That man on the side of the road reminds me a little of a birth parent who has a child in care. No doubt, birth parents may have made bad choices, but they are often as hurt, broken, and friendless as the man in the parable.

At a recent visit, Ms. Nash was talking with the mother of the foster children in her care. The mom opened up about the personal struggles that have affected her ability to parent her children well. Rather than dismiss her as a “bad mom” or a “lost cause,” Ms. Nash began to share the good news of the Gospel— that no one is too lost, too damaged, or too bad for Jesus Christ to save them! Ms. Nash encouraged her to work hard to get her children back. We call our Agape foster parents “ministry partners” because they are truly the hands and feet of Jesus as they take care of children who need loving, stable homes and minister to birth parents as well. We are thankful for Ms. Nash and all our amazing foster parents!

*Pictured is Caroline Nash (on the left) with Agape Social Worker, Jessica.