Chapter 2 The God of More Than Enough

chapter two The God of More Than Enough

“Swim down.”

—Nemo

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Near the end of the Pixar movie, Finding Nemo, our cute littleclownfish,Nemo,encountersyetanothercrisis when his new friend, Dory, gets swept up with hundreds of tunafishinagiantfishingnet.Inabeautifulexchange, Nemotellshisdad(withwhomhehasjustbeenreunited) that he knows what to do. Marlin, battling the effects of past trauma, reluctantly allows his son to spring into action. Togethertheyinstructallthefishinthenetto“swimdown.” The downward pressure of thousands of tuna swimming in unison begins to tear the nets that bind them. It’s only a matter of moments before this giant mass of tuna (and Dory)breaksthroughtofreedom.4

When it comes to big problems, real and lasting solutions require everyone heading in the same direction.

In the U.S. foster care system, most advocates in our communitiesandprofessionalsinourcountyofficesstart with a clear direction: they want to see kids safe and families restored. However, over time, the nets of bureaucracy, powerlessness, overwhelming need, and limited resources cause us to feel trapped. The clear vision we once started with becomes a claustrophobic effort to simply catch a breath. We eventually settle for incremental change and hope for “just a little better.” It is easy to lose sight of what it would mean to have more than enough families waiting for children instead of children waiting for families.

But, the truth is, we do have some small glimpses into what that looks like. In the world of adoption, it is common knowledge that there are extensive waiting lists of families waiting for healthy infants. While this is difficult and frustrating for the prospective parents who wait, when it comes to children who need families, it is precisely what we should want. Better an anxiously waiting adult than a child lefttofeelunwanted.Betteragiantpoolofparentstochoose from for a perfect match than settling for the next person who answers the phone.

I pray for a day very soon when our country will be full of adults eagerly waiting for the privilege to love a nineyear-oldgirlforafewmonths,whilehermomfinishesup rehab; or the chance to adopt and delight in a fourteenyear-old boy with autism, who

When those in loves playing with straws; or the church are the opportunity to mentor a willing to love hurting seventeen-year-old who has good people, we become reason to believe that all adults the embodiment of a are liars but is still willing to let Savior who leapt out one take him out to ice cream of heaven into a dirty once a week. feeding trough to When those in the church are willingly expose Himself willing to love hurting people, we to leprosy, be ridiculed become the embodiment of a Savior by the powerful, and who leapt out of heaven into a dirty endure abuse at the feeding trough to willingly expose hands of those He came Himself to leprosy, be ridiculed by to love. the powerful, and endure abuse at the hands of those He came to love.

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We’ve been commanded to love vulnerable children. So what does it look like when God’s people hear one of His commands and their response exceeds expectations?

In Exodus 35, Moses delivers the message to the Israelites that God has commanded them to bring the supplies needed to build the tabernacle. This included giftsof gold,silver,andbronze,yarnandfinelinen,goat hair and ram skins, acacia wood, olive oil, spices, incense, onyx stones, and other gems. Not only that, but He then commanded everyone with skill to chip in and create everything: the tent and its covering, the ark with its poles and the atonement cover, the curtain that shielded it, the table, the lampstand and lamps, the altar, the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle, the altar of burnt offering, the bronze basin, the curtains of the courtyard, the tent pegs for the tabernacle and their ropes, and the woven garments worn for those ministering in the sanctuary. It is a big list.

It was a complex and expensive undertaking, and it was all hands on deck. The passage describes the people’s response to this command in beautiful detail, but it can be summed up by Exodus 35:21:

Everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments.

Everyone brought what they could. Those with stuff brought stuff.Thosewith skills brought skills. Andwhen everyone did their part, check out what happened:

They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.” Then Moses gave an order, and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No

What the people man or woman is to make anything of God did here else as an offering for the sanctuary.” was to reflect something And so the people were restrained in God’s very character: from bringing more, because what A capacity and a they already had was more than willingness (perhaps enough to do all the work. (Exodus even a compulsion) 36:3–7, emphasis added) to provide more than What the people of God did enough. here was to reflect something in God’s very character: A capacity andawillingness(perhapsevenacompulsion)toprovide more than enough. We serve a God that, for whatever reason, likes to overdeliver.

When the Israelites were wandering in the desert looking for food to eat, God provided manna for them. He didn’t provide “not enough.” He didn’t provide “just enough.” He provided “more than enough.”

When Jesus threw an impromptu luncheon for 5,000 on the side of a hill, He didn’t provide “not enough.” He didn’t provide “just enough.” He provided “more than enough.”

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When Jesus came across some tired fishermen who had been out all night and had caught nothing, He told them to cast their nets on the other side. He didn’t provide “not enough.” He didn’t provide “just enough.” He provided “more than enough.”

I believe we serve a God that desires to provide for hurting children and families in this same way. I believe He wants to use us to provide them with “more than enough.”

This begs the question, “When it comes specifically to foster care, what does ‘more than enough’ look like?” We believe it applies to four areas:

• More than enough foster and kinship families for every child to have an ideal placement • More than enough adoptive families for every child waiting for adoption • More than enough help for biological families trying to stabilize and reunify • More than enough wraparound support from the church for foster, kinship, adoptive and biological families

For the Christian foster care advocate, I believe that prayingandfightingfor more than enough in every one of the 3,142 counties in the country is our version of “swim down!” It will take you and the others in your community going in the same direction. It is our rallying cry, and it’s time to choose more than enough as our destination and go there together.

Let’s swim down.

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