I Dare You.

I dare you to try this.

To say yes.

To take a stranger into your home.

To say yes to the emergency placement.

To say yes to the child whose behaviors were too extreme for the last parent to handle.

To care for them as your own.

To answer all the nosy people’s questions.

To justify your actions to people who have met your children a handful of times.

To explain a situation that words can’t describe.

To ignore the stares and words of disapproval from people who would never attempt this ministry.

To take the ignorant comments without snapping back.

To clothe, comfort, and love someone you didn’t even know yesterday.

To tend to every one of their needs.

To sacrifice your time, attention, and life for a stranger.

To care for their broken family.

To witness a parent sign their parental rights away, not to a person but to an agency.

To watch the heartbreak that parent feels, knowing they’re not able to properly provide.

To laugh and cry and comfort that parent.

To show compassion and grace when it seems impossible.

To encourage and promote healthy relationships.

To answer every difficult question.

To mentor and teach.

To explain the difference between bad people and bad decisions.

To care for the world’s most vulnerable.

To temporarily care for a child that was never meant to stay.

To love them enough to say goodbye.

To say yes again.

I dare you.