The Fellowship of the</br>Welcoming

The Fellowship of the
Welcoming

For many of us, somewhere along the line, God placed a mission in our hearts to welcome a child home! Perhaps more than one child, perhaps only for a few weeks, perhaps for a lifetime. The variables may be unique, but the mission was the same - we found a child, somewhere in the midst of their displacement, and offered what each of us were created for - love, community, and a chance to succeed and fail within the context of a steady love. A home. We are "The Fellowship of the Welcoming."

Family is God's idea and it was His original and intentional idea to put a set group of people together because it was "not good to be alone." Our relational God passed His relational qualities on to us and we too noticed one walking alone. Perhaps we noticed because we enjoy the fullness of soul-mingling and imagined the loud silence of one.  Or maybe a long and slow memory of fending for ourselves re-broke our heart to it's reality when we saw one alone. Yes, for whatever reason, somewhere along the line we were bothered enough by the aloneness of an un-known child to think about going outside the "natural boundaries" of our current "situation" - current family planning, family tree, family budget and... be welcoming. Really welcoming. Like, way more than the would-you-like-to-come-over-for-a-play-date kind of welcoming. And that has made all the difference.

We are the "Fellowship of the Welcoming." The determined, the adventurous, the ones who find ourselves coloring outside the blood-lines; every day learning what it means to say "welcome." From the moment we opened our hearts to our precious "Alone" in the first place, we have persevered in the invitation. So raising the nearest sippy cup, smudged glass, or lukewarm latte - proclaim a fierce whisper of humble congratulations, "Here's to you, welcoming one! My, how your heart has grown!"