Born Fatherless and Orphaned Soon After, Raised in Foster Care System, A...

His father died before he was even born, and he was orphaned when his mother also died a year later. He spent his entire childhood moving from one foster care situation to another, all of them, he believes, “just wanting to collect a check”.

If anyone might have a reason to be bitter against even the idea of a loving God, it would be Anthony, 30, whom I met while he was out working through some difficulties during a long walk at the park.
But Anthony is choosing hope and optimism rather than bitterness and pessimism. He isn’t too sure of the details, but I believe his basic belief in a benevolent Creator is pleasing to God as described in Hebrews 11:6 – “…anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
So what is the reward described in this verse? If someone earnestly seeks God, then what better reward could there be than God Himself? I believe I found Anthony out in the park seeking God in a dark valley of life, and that God could very well be sending myself and others to meet him in that valley.
I shared with Anthony how God wants to be our heavenly Father. On the night before he was crucified and when Jesus knew his disciples would be walking through their own dark valley, Jesus reassured them of the Father’s love:
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” (John 14)
Anthony, I know you are just beginning to learn more about the things of God, but I want you to know Jesus loves you very much, so much so that he gave his life for you, so that you could be adopted into a spiritual family that loves you and cares for you with the same sacrificial love the Father has shown us. I pray you can become part of a Bible-based and Jesus-filled local church where you can give and receive that love in real, practical ways, and I will continue to stay in touch with you to help that happen.