Foster Care is a blessing.
There, I said it.
It’s not the popular assumption of foster care. And it’s not something I ever told myself until about a week ago.
Really, I mean…foster care is hard. It’s opening up my home to someone that I’ve never met before. And this person…they come with a lot of unknowns. A lot of baggage. A lot of things that need to be worked on. Even if they are a newborn, they come with those things. This little person, they come with this deep, deep need to be loved. They require me to give my all for them. They require me to advocate for them, to listen to them, to defend them, to support their biological family, and following all the rules while doing all this. And then, just as quickly as they came….they are gone. And I’m left feeling like I did so much for nothing in return. And I think that is true…we foster parents don’t often get anything in return.
That’s how I was thinking about foster care up until a week ago. That’s the common perception of foster care. But here’s how I am challenging myself to think about it from now on:
Foster care is a blessing.
- It’s a blessing because it’s teaching me so much about myself. It’s teaching me patience, love, understanding.
- It’s a blessing because it is causing me to be in great need. I am tempted to think that I need the help of other people around me, but in reality, through foster care, I’m learning that I really, really need the Lord.
- It’s a blessing because Theo and I are able to tangibly fulfill the command to “take care of orphans”.
- It’s a blessing because Theo and I have been able to speak out about our religious reasons for doing foster care to our caseworkers, training instructors, visitation supervisors, etc.
- It’s a blessing because it opens up so much conversation on taking care of those in need. Both with believers and non-believers.
- It’s a blessing because through it I have made and found friends that I otherwise never would have connected with.
- It’s a blessing because Tera is learning so much about how to give/share/love
- It’s a blessing because we have an impact not only on the lives of the foster children, but hopefully on the lives of the biological family, too.
- It’s a blessing because it has refreshed my prayer life in many new ways. Prayers that I could just leave before now MUST be brought before the Father
- It’s a blessing because I have two children to care for
- It’s a blessing because God chose me and Theo in this season to have both Tera and Little Miss. Who else would be mighty and powerful and sovereign enough to think that I would be a Mom- not just to one child, but to TWO?
This Thanksgiving, I’m so thankful for so many things. One of those things is Foster Care. What a beautiful thing it is, that God has called us to be a part of.
We are so blessed.
I am so thankful you posted this! I have two daughters adopted through foster care, one with Reactive Attachment Disorder. This was the ONE challenge my husband and I didn’t think would be a good fit; I am admittedly selfish and lack the patience and empathy required in parenting a child with these issues. I’ve often asked God why he gave me this child, told him he’s given me more credit than I deserve, etc. But your post reminds me of the good things that come with challenges, such as meeting new friends. Most importantly, you’ve reminded with your second bullet point that I need to turn to God more. So, thank you again, and Happy Thanksgiving.
Thank you for sharing your home and heart with these children who are in transition.
And I know you are being a blessing even though there are a lot of hard days!
Beautiful post. Thank you for showing the blessings of foster care.