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except sit in the dark – listening
to the sound of their heart beating
in silent fear. And while many of
these children sit in fear with no
one to help them, a little bit of
their soul dies. They learn there is
no one they can trust, no one that
will come when they cry out, no
one that is strong enough to really
help them.
The absence of good sleep
also means the absence of
dreams. After all, dreams for the
future are hard to come by when
it takes a supreme effort just to get
through the day. Sleep is
especially hard for the kids that
wake up to sexual abuse,
nightmares or hunger pains. At
4KIDS, we talk to children every
week whose greatest fear is
nighttime, because that’s often
when the beatings or abuse
comes their way. It is in the night
that the enemy of our souls does
his worst, keeping his dark
promise to be the thief who
comes to steal, kill and destroy
(John 10:10). This darkness and
fear also robs a child’s future.
People often wonder why
children in foster care have such
poor academic performance in
school. Research shows us the
clear link between sleeplessness
and its side effects: decreased
attention span, weak immune
system, anxiety and depression.
This is where the power of
the Christian family breaks
through – because light is always
more powerful than darkness. As
broken children come into
families where God is at the
center, they intuitively sense the
difference...“there are nomonsters
here.”
I remember tucking in a
foster child named Joseph on his
first night in our home. As my
wife and I put our sons to bed, we
followed our usual bedtime ritual
of tickle torture, wrestle mania,
hugs and prayers. Joseph watched
intently from the safety of his bed,
soaking it all in with wide-eyed
wonder. For us it was a normal
evening, but from the look on
Joseph’s face it was a scene out of
a fantasy movie to him. And then
he said something I will never
forget, “My mom, she hits me…
can I stay here?”
In that moment, I was
reminded of the two very
different worlds that co-exist in
every neighborhood. Families
where children grow up in fear
and families where a child knows
she is safe. When a child can sleep
in peace, she will thrive. She will
dream. She will take risks and do
something great with her life
because the security of her family
will become a springboard for her
future.
God’s perfect provision for
every child is amazingly simple –
a family. There is a calming power
associated with being tucked in at
night. The comfort of being safely
laid down for the day and prayed
over – ultimately entrusted to the
ONE who is stronger, wiser, and
immune to the monsters and the
dragons of our past. Knowing that
you are watched over and loved
brings a peace of mind that leads
to rest. A sweet sleep that feels
safe also encourages bonding,
trust and human connection. It is
a place where the nightmares
fade, and hurting kids can
become children again.
At 4KIDS, our vision is a
home for every child in crisis, and
we won’t rest until we get more
children in homes where they can
have safe sleep and begin to
dream again. To learnmore about
how you can help kids in our
community have sweet dreams,
visit 4kidsofsfl.org/sweetdreams.
“Fairy tales do not tell children
the dragons exist. Children already
know that dragons exist. Fairy
tales tell children the dragons can
be killed.” – G. K. Chesterton
Pastor Doug Sauder is a south
Florida native and the President
of 4KIDS of South Florida. He has
served at risk youth for more than
20 years as a public school
teacher, coach, local pastor, and
foster parent. As an adoptive
parent, conference speaker,
author, and mentor, he is
passionate about inspiring people
to fulfill God’s call to care for the
orphan and the widow.
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September 2013 9
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No Monsters
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