A sacrifice demanded of you by someone else is nothing more than bondage.

A friend of mine has fostered a boy for 6 years, without being awarded the rights to make any decisions for the child, thus they fall on the agency. They have thwarted this legal process on at least one occasion and I believe the judge being pro-birth-family has said no in the other 3 instances.

So here she is again at that point where she is being told she must choose between providing care for this child permanently and loosing any support she may get from the agency; having the agency say that this boy is the worst they have had on their books; that if she doesn't make this placement permanent they will find another home for him and then on the other hand they are not able to find any respite carers so she can go away with her own daughter and re-cooperate (she has terminal cancer, shingles, head cold and glandular fever) for one week.

The child has been through 7 placement homes prior to living with her, and 4 respite carers that will not have him back, as well as one permanent placement that gave him back after 4 months.

This (christian) agency is saying that fostering is all about sacrifice and implying that she needs to be the making it all the time. I am personally fed up with them myself. Actually we did our foster care training with them 9 years ago and decided at the end of the course that we could not go ahead with it In hindsight we see this as providence as we have been saved from so much heart ache and frustration dealing with the agency. And no, this is not the only case we know of. Several other friends have dealt with this organisation.

This is all to explain my quote above that what this friend is being asked of her in the name of sacrifice is nothing more than slavery. She has no rights, must work tirelessly without a break day in and day out doing the job nobody else wants.

Personally I don't think she is alone either. I believe there are many people out there that trudge on in the name of God, or the church or charity that are being taken advantage of. I do not think this is healthy or fair. No man is supposed to have that much control over another life and limit its freedom. It flies in the face of Jesus saying "I have come to give you life in abundance." and that we are not called slaves but brothers and sister in Christ.

Are you in this position now?