By Terri LaPoint

Health Impact News

Christmas is an especially hard time for families who have been separated by Child Protective Services and family courts. How can Christmas possibly be “merry” when that which means the most – the children, or in some cases the elderly parents – are not there? The laughter and wonder of Christmas is missing, and their hearts have been shattered.

My heart has been very heavy this Christmas as I carry so many hurting families in my heart. It is hard to see hope and remember joy when there is so much evil in the world, but as I woke up Christmas morning, I was reminded that Hope didn’t come two thousand years ago as a blazing warrior on a white horse bringing victory. He came as a tiny baby. Yet He represented in human form all the love and promises and hope of God.

The greatest light the world has ever known came into the world in a form recognized by only a few, and we have yet to see the full manifestation of everything that was birthed into the world that one holy night and secured on the cross and an empty tomb 33 years later.

I am reminded that, even in the midst of deep sorrow and desperation, the true message of Christmas is that “Hope” has been born. This season is a timeless marker that, no matter how dark and hopeless it may seem, there is still a light that shines in the darkness.

Emmanuel – “God with us” – came two thousand years ago into a world that was filled with darkness and hopelessness. At that time there was great evil in the world, and those who believed in God were in a place of bondage under a brutal and oppressive regime. There had been 4 centuries of silence from the God of heaven.

Hope seemed distant, and the promises of God spoken through the prophets must have seemed like a fairy tale, something for the foolish and devout to hold onto, while the rest of the people struggled simply to survive.

It was into this kind of world that a baby was born, unknown to most of the world but heralded by angels to humble shepherds watching their flocks on a cold winter night.

A star shone brightly to announce his arrival, but the people of Bethlehem slumbered, unaware that the Light of Hope had just been born in their midst. Wise men from a faraway land saw the star. They were awake and knew that something of monumental importance was happening. They left everything they had in search of the King of Kings who had been foretold.

The Hope of the world came as a tiny baby. He is the promise that every Word that has been spoken by God will come to pass. As Zechariah, the father of Jesus’s cousin John the Baptist said of Jesus before His birth:

The splendor light of heaven’s glorious sunrise is about to break upon us in holy visitation, all because the merciful heart of God is so very tender. The word from heaven will come to us with dazzling light to shine upon those who live in darkness, near death’s dark shadow. And he will illuminate the path that leads to the way of peace. (Luke 1: 78-79 – The Passion Translation)

Memorial Fence for All Children Taken by CPS

Nancy Barton is a grandmother in North Dakota who is grieving the absence of 3 of her grandchildren this Christmas who were taken by CPS. She recognizes that she is not alone in this, and that there are hundreds of thousands of children who are not spending the holidays with their own families.

A couple months ago, she began a memorial project for children who have been stolen from their families, writing their names on plaques and hanging them on the fence surrounding her house. Her memorial fence was created as a tribute to “give the children a voice,” and she wants them to know that they are not forgotten at Christmastime or any time.

As of Christmas day 2018, there were 1027 plaques on the fence, representing several thousand children. Each contains 1 to 10 names.

Some of them, like Nhyariah Mack, will never come home. More children die in the custody of Child Protective Services than do in their own families.

See Nhyariah’s story:

Paula Parker put together a YouTube video slideshow with photos from Nancy Barton’s memorial fence. She too has 3 grandchildren who were taken by CPS, and she understands the pain facing many in this season. She writes:

I created this Tribute video I made for the children and for Nancy Barton‘s hard work for her putting this memorial fence with all the children’s names who were stolen by cps and for all the grieving parents and grandparents to give their children a voice to be heard and not forgotten this Christmas! … for all the children stolen by the corrupted cps and family courts, stolen from innocent parents and grandparents for profit, under the Title IV-E federal state funding in the ASFA adoption safe families act signed under Bill and Hillary Clinton. CPS rips families apart by stealing children and placing them in foster care so they are able to receive federal funding and bonuses and incentives for every child they take out of the home. This video is to give children a voice and raise awareness on what child protective services is doing to children worldwide. Nancy Barton created the memorial fence to give all the children a voice and has worked nonstop on this tribute memorial fence for all the stolen children….and many families gave their children and grandchildren’s names and dates when stolen to be placed on this memorial fence so they would have a voice and not be forgotten. Nancy herself is grieving grandparent – cps wrongfully stole her grandchildren from her and she is wanting them back. I myself am a grieving grandma whose 3 grandchildren have been taken also, along with many parents and grandparents around the world. CPS is corrupted. They are taking from innocent parents and extended families. We the People need to wake up and see what is happening right in front of us. Our children need us! [Edited for grammar]

Hope

Jesus came to bring light, life, and hope to this dark world. The word “hope” is a fascinating word in the Bible. It isn’t the kind of hope that one may “hope” they win the lottery, or “hope” that their team may win the Superbowl.

It isn’t just a wish.

On the contrary, the New Testament Greek word for hope is far more substantial. It is elpis/elpizo (1679/1680 Strongs). The literal definition of this Greek word is:

…the desire of something good with the expectation of receiving it.

Every single time the word hope is used in the King James Version, it is this word, as in Hebrews 11:1 –

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

This word “hope” links to the word “batach” (982 Strongs) in the Hebrew language. It is the word used in Psalm 22:9, which says:

Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. (NIV)

It literally means to attach oneself, to trust, feel safe, secure, or be confident. This picture of trust and hope is of a breastfeeding baby who desires something good (mother’s milk) with the expectation of receiving it. In a normal, non-CPS situation, the nursing baby doesn’t just wish that his mother will nurse him. He KNOWS it. She wants to give her milk as much as baby wants to receive it, maybe more.

The baby born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago came to bring us hope of redemption. It isn’t a Christmas wish. It is a promise.

May this kind of hope and faith spring up in our hearts this day, and may the new year bring the restoration of families all over the world. May this be the year that the prayer of Jesus be answered:

Thy kingdom come; thy will be done – on earth as it is in heaven.

Family was God’s idea. Restoration of families is God’s promise.

In this hope, may you find renewed strength for tomorrow.

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