“Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.” – Exodus 22:22
Since the beginning of their marriage, a Kentucky Baptist pastor and his wife had always wanted lots of children. Bryan and Krista Grigg’s hopes were fulfilled in 2017 with the adoption of three additional kids. The Griggs’ child count stands at six — three of them biological. It was while scrolling through Facebook that Krista came across a post from the Kentucky Baptist Convention promoting an initiative to recruit Christian families and their churches into foster care.
As Krista and Bryan read about the need, they were both moved to tears. They say it was at that moment they realized that this was the route God would use to grow their family. As senior pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in Lyon County, Kentucky, Bryan invited Sunrise representatives to conduct training in their church, after which the Griggs agreed to become foster parents. “We were commanded in God’s Word to care for the orphans,” Krista said about their decision, “so it wasn’t something we needed to pray about long.” Once the Griggs took this leap of faith, it wasn’t long before three biological siblings — children they would later adopt — came into their home as foster children. “We first met the children on March 26, 2015, when they pulled in the driveway with the Department of Community Based Services,” Bryan said. Bryan, Krista, and their biological children — Luke, 13, Elijah, 9, and Samuel, 9 — quickly came to love the three foster children — Jed, 7; Abby Grace, 4; and Zeke, 2. Being foster parents gave the Griggs an opportunity to “love the least of these” with actions instead of just words. And when given the chance to adopt the three siblings, the family of five made the decision to become a family of eight. “I could not bear the thought of them leaving us,” Bryan said. The adoption became final on May 8, 2017.“While we were standing before the judge, I was holding our youngest,” Krista recalled. “He had his arm around my neck. Bryan was standing next to me and he reached over and grabbed Bryan’s neck pulling us together.” Krista said it was a moment that signaled to her that even their newly adopted 2-year-old understood the significance of the occasion — that they truly became a family, and not just legally.
The Lord desires us to open up our hearts to orphans and widows. Today in prayer, thank the Lord for adopting you into His family and ask Him how you can better provide for orphans and widows.
“Followers of Jesus Christ care about widows and orphans and they understand that it is a litmus test. It is not an option.” – Kay Warren
God’s Word: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27
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