Forever Family
Rebecca Urrutia
January 21, 2010
Filed under Spirituality, Student Life
“I was five years old when I was put in foster care, and since then I have spent most of my life in and out of foster homes,” says Raven Agarth, a sophomore at CCA. In her sixteen years of life, Raven has lived in a total of fourteen different houses. Each time it was a new place, new faces and a different life. But at the same time, she was being moved from one foster house to another, God began moving and speaking to the hearts of the Agarth family. And after a year-long process, Raven can now say, “I was officially adopted on National Adoption Day, which is the 21st of November. I even have a certificate that says I am now Raven Agarth.” She finally found her “forever family.”
Kathy Agarth, CCA’s third grade teacher and now Raven’s mom, says, “Raven touched our hearts when we first saw her picture in the Heart Gallery. She is a beautiful young lady who loves music and has a great sense of humor. We met her for the first time at a restaurant. We were all very nervous. Raven had about 40 questions that she asked about our family. One question was, ‘Will you ever give up on me?’ This one question has kept us committed to Raven even during the difficult times.”
In one day, Raven’s world totally changed from a lonely one to a full one, filled with blessings and a family that loves her. The Agarth Family chose Raven and she accepted them as her family, and so, she is now of them.
Raven’s story reminds us of our story… God and us. Ephesians 1:4-5 puts it so beautifully when it says, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”
To think that the Creator of the universe delights in calling us His chosen and beloved sons and daughters…Wow! Jesus Christ paid the price for our ransom and welcomed us into His house as His newly adopted children. We can rest assured that He will never give up on us. He is our “forever family.”