My Passion

I love kids. All kids from infancy to teenagerdom. Actually, I love kids before infancy because I think they're the living handywork of God, then, too. I want to spend much of my time with these kids. Kids make me feel tired, but not in a "I can't deal with them anymore" way, but more in a "I feel like I've given something back" kind of way.

One day, while I was housesitting, and idea came to me quite suddenly. Why not set up a ranch for kids in troubled situations? Anything from rebelliousness to kids who are abused to even kids who have some type of handicap. This idea took many forms as I thought about it in the last few weeks. I thought about adopting kids and taking in foster kids. I thought about setting up a ranch get-away type thing.

No matter how the fine details work out, there are some things about it which I am passionate about. I want these kids to learn the value of hard work. I want them to learn the value of love. And I want this to be in a Christian environment. Those are the three absolute "Musts." Then there are the "Maybes." These points include homeschooling the kids who are living on the ranch, raising chickens, having nightly worship, and teaching the kids to cook and deal with animals. I even have "maybe" idea of using the barn that my family has as the living/dining quarters. My dad built that barn, but sort of loss his passion for building and maintaining it. I've always loved that place and never wanted him to sell it. We set it up so that, if necessary, it could be adapted to live in. In my seventeen-year-old eyes, it would be perfect with enough fixing up.

I know God gave me this idea and this passion for a reason. I have no idea how the finer points will work out, how the legalities will play out, and if this will change my major for college. I'm letting God worry about all of that. But when I have such a powerful idea that I can't go to sleep at night at midnight until I've written out all my ideas and looked up Bible passages about it, then I know it's an idea from God.