Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.

Today’s post will read more like a short newsletter article: several pictures and just enough words to tie them together. (Luke 17:1-3)

PRE-BIRTHDAY: First, Friday evening Rebekah and I hosted my immediate family for a celebration dinner party.

For years, I’ve shared a birthday bash with my brother, Geoff (we were born March 26 and 28); it seems like an even better idea to keep the family tradition going now that he’s gone.

My niece Hannah and her family are fostering two sisters, Hannah and Harper. It’s heartbreaking to know that so many children are at such serious risk with their biological parents, but it’s heartwarming to witness such generous love and care from Hannah and Andrew, and the older children.

It makes me shake my head in amazement when I hear rhetoric that tries to blame all kinds of social challenges on political, ideological, theological, or doctrinal points of dispute.

Really? What strikes at the core of the kind of America we should value is the neglect and abuse of children, the failure of parents to take responsibility for the care and nurture of their offspring, and the unwillingness of the rest of us to invest adequate resources in social services designed to identify children at risk and then follow them as part of a manageable case load.

WELL DONE! So kudos, and prayer, and encouragement, and love to Hannah and Andrew Roberts. You have the determination and the commitment and the faith to make a difference in the lives of these children.

But I’ve got to tell you (and it looks like my focus today is staying with this subject of “at risk” children) it’s an amazing thing to witness the recovery of a child who has been given the beautiful gift of the opportunity to learn how to thrive.

JOY: Sometimes, babies are neglected to the extent that they don’t even bother to cry anymore, because they’ve learned that the attempt to communicate is a waste of time and energy. When that happens. they are on the threshold of a dangerous and possibly permanent disassociation from any kind of relationship. Babies who are neglected fail to learn, fail to bond, fail to grow properly… they fail to thrive.

And then, sometimes, you meet a child who has been brought back from the edge of the abyss, who is surrounded by love, and care, and more healthy stimulation than their foster parents can probably stand… And you get to be witness to a miracle.

TRAGICALLY LOST: It’s then that I find myself praying, hard, that this most privileged and blessed of societies we live in will somehow learn to bridge (or fill in) those tragic gaps in care, and awareness, and responsibility, and social action, that turn into chasms where children fall, and where children are often lost, and tragically forgotten.

But, in the meanwhile, thanks, and kudos, and encouragement, and love to my niece Hannah, and her loving (and patient) husband, Andrew Roberts.

In love, in the sure promise of hope, and with the conviction that we can change this world – DEREK