What does it mean to Foster?
Foster means
- to promote the growth and development of
- to nuture
- to advocate for
- to uphold
Is this not what Christ does for us?
After I got married the desire to have kids took root deeper. Once we decided to expand our family, disappointment and heartache soon descended on our home. Becoming a mommy turned into a science project to put it mildly. Years of disappointment followed as well as prayers for God to remove my desire to have kids. But that was not part of God's plan. After a horrible miscarriage, we welcomed our son, Jackson and two years later, our daughter, Hannah. Then God closed the door for me to physically have any more babies and I thought I would have to learn to be content with my family of four even though I still had a desire for more. Despite me not accepting what I could not see, God's plan prevailed and He kept my desire alive. God put the idea of fostering on my heart and our family talked about it and prayed about it. We were all commited to giving it a try. We signed up for classes and here we are four years into the fostering adventure.
To look back now and see how God had made me to have compassion and a love for kids then he took what He designed and put His purpose to work to make me a foster mom is absolutely mind blowing. Fostering has opened our eyes to so many things. It is a humbling and life changing experience. We pray for the kids God wants to place in our home because without Him we could not foster. Whether we pray or not kids will get removed from homes across the state so I want to be as prepared as I can for the kids that will be placed with our family. We got our first call to foster on a Wednesday night and I thought I was ready but as the time got close to the kids arriving I found myself doubting that I could do this. It was nearly 10:30pm when the worker arrived with the girls ( 3 month old and 16 months old). We instantly went from a family of four to a family of six. I was surprised how quickly the girls adjusted and fit into our family. Visits quickly got started and I was able to visit with the parents of the girls. We shared our stories and I captured as many memories as I could. Soon, reunification with the mom took place. She really worked hard and I was glad for her and the girls. Since then we have had 26 kids in our home all below the age of 5. Some we have had for over a year, some only a few weeks but mostly we have them over 6 months. It has not been a easy road parenting someone else's child but knowing that each child deserves love and hope we did what we could. Letting go when it is time for kids to return can be bittersweet. We work at preparing for the day they leave and we work to prepare the kids to leave. We have tried hard to work with all the biological parents of the kids we have fostered but we have discovered that the lifestyle they are use to is the one they quickly return to. It is greatly discouraging to see. I feel I have likely learned more lessons from the kids we have fostered than I have taught them and that is a good thing.
Our Beginning
I have always had a love for children and looking back I can see it is a passion that God placed in my heart from the beginning. As a child I visited an orphanage with my Girls in Action group from church and it was there I met a young boy sitting alone in the corner of the playground. I do not remember much about what we talked about except that he told me "no one wants me and I don't belong to anyone". It was hard for me to understand at the time just how sad those words were. However, they did pierce my heart and I questioned my parents about going back and getting him. It was much more complicated than that but I never forgot him or what he said that day. So, as I grew up my love for children grew and whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up the answer was always - a mommy.After I got married the desire to have kids took root deeper. Once we decided to expand our family, disappointment and heartache soon descended on our home. Becoming a mommy turned into a science project to put it mildly. Years of disappointment followed as well as prayers for God to remove my desire to have kids. But that was not part of God's plan. After a horrible miscarriage, we welcomed our son, Jackson and two years later, our daughter, Hannah. Then God closed the door for me to physically have any more babies and I thought I would have to learn to be content with my family of four even though I still had a desire for more. Despite me not accepting what I could not see, God's plan prevailed and He kept my desire alive. God put the idea of fostering on my heart and our family talked about it and prayed about it. We were all commited to giving it a try. We signed up for classes and here we are four years into the fostering adventure.
To look back now and see how God had made me to have compassion and a love for kids then he took what He designed and put His purpose to work to make me a foster mom is absolutely mind blowing. Fostering has opened our eyes to so many things. It is a humbling and life changing experience. We pray for the kids God wants to place in our home because without Him we could not foster. Whether we pray or not kids will get removed from homes across the state so I want to be as prepared as I can for the kids that will be placed with our family. We got our first call to foster on a Wednesday night and I thought I was ready but as the time got close to the kids arriving I found myself doubting that I could do this. It was nearly 10:30pm when the worker arrived with the girls ( 3 month old and 16 months old). We instantly went from a family of four to a family of six. I was surprised how quickly the girls adjusted and fit into our family. Visits quickly got started and I was able to visit with the parents of the girls. We shared our stories and I captured as many memories as I could. Soon, reunification with the mom took place. She really worked hard and I was glad for her and the girls. Since then we have had 26 kids in our home all below the age of 5. Some we have had for over a year, some only a few weeks but mostly we have them over 6 months. It has not been a easy road parenting someone else's child but knowing that each child deserves love and hope we did what we could. Letting go when it is time for kids to return can be bittersweet. We work at preparing for the day they leave and we work to prepare the kids to leave. We have tried hard to work with all the biological parents of the kids we have fostered but we have discovered that the lifestyle they are use to is the one they quickly return to. It is greatly discouraging to see. I feel I have likely learned more lessons from the kids we have fostered than I have taught them and that is a good thing.
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