"God's hand is all over this."

This week I sat with a mom who needed an Alongside Families hosting for her three daughters for a few days. She was in the middle of a crisis. She was facing heartbreaking circumstances and impossibly hard decisions with no safe support system. And she closed her eyes and thanked God.   

She had taken a leap of faith. She scrutinized the Alongside Families website, reading about child hosting, researching the partner churches listed, looking for stories shared by other moms. She was looking for any red flags, any warning signs that her mama heart should recognize. She had nowhere else for her daughters to go right now, but that didn’t make the decision any easier.  

And then, believing God would take care of her girls, she agreed to meet with a possible Host Family.   

Meanwhile, a Host Family from Cross Park Church was approved and ready to serve. They were a brand new Host Family seeing hosting needs come through and weighing which needs they could say “yes” to. They took a leap of faith and went all-in. The Host Family’s two daughters were similar ages to the girls in need of hosting, and it made sense.

It isn’t often that we see a Host Family say yes to a hosting of three children as their first hosting.  

It isn’t often that our staff team says “yes” to a hosting of three children for a new Host Family! But something about this felt right.   

When the two families met, the similarities between them were amazing. From faith, parenting styles, and children’s interests to food preferences and technology rules, the uncanniness of it all was impossible to miss. Near the end of the hosting meeting the mom shared, “Our two families are so synced up and so similar. God just does something like this to say, ‘See? This HAS to be me’, because you can’t make something like this up. Thank you, God.”  

And this mom was so right. His hand is all over this. This has to be God. Because when the people of God respond in obedience and are ready and willing to serve the city and love our neighbors in His way and timing, God shows up. He makes a way we could never make and works miracles we could never imagine. He restores families and transforms lives and causes eternal fruit to grow.   

At Alongside Families, we have the privilege of seeing the local church lead in family preservation in our city through biblical hospitality. We see Christ-followers open their homes to keep children out of foster care, open their hearts to build lasting friendships with isolated parents, and open their lives to a new normal that emphasizes abundant living over convenient living. In it all, we are reminded that God’s hand is all over this.  

Our staff team might be the ones matching families in need who call our Support Line to volunteers ready to serve, but behind the scenes, He is in control. God takes two yeses - one from a parent in need courageously saying “yes” to asking for help and one from a volunteer bravely saying “yes” to serving a neighbor in need despite the unknowns - and carries out His good plan. He just needs our yes, He takes care of the rest.