Hi there! Welcome!
First, I just wanted to remind you that we are not some super special people. We are neighbors, parents, church goers…people JUST LIKE YOU!
We don’t want any applaud, we don’t care for children to “feel good” about ourselves.
God simply burdened us with the needs all around us, and He opened our eyes to see, the orphan isn’t just the child sitting behind bars in some third world country.
The orphan is everywhere. It can be your child’s friend from school, a neighbor, or a kid on the playground…one who look a lot like the rest of the children playing.
And in these past ten years of fostering, we have learned that horrific things happen in people’s homes. Things we don’t notice, and to be honest, things that these I can hardly share about in words alone.
Children, even here in America, are beaten, tortured, held behind bars, violated, and even starved to death. It may sound horrific…but the thing is, these kids are no different from the rest.
They have dreams, hopes, a need to be loved, and a longing for safety and security. And as Christians, we feel it is a mandate to provide shelter to the hurting, hope for the lost, a refuge for the needy.
Scripture commands…
- “Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.” (Psalms 82:3)
- “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)
- “Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this” (Duet. 24:17-18)
- “You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.” (Psalms 10:17-18),
- “He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me? declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 22:16)
So, 13 years ago, we answered the call. We prayerfully filled out the paper work, and opened our home to our very first foster child. It was not easy. But it was worth it!
Our first little ones were short term. We started with respite, until our adopted daughter came, which of course turned into long term.
Most of our kids were preemies, drug exposed infants who could fit in the palm of our hands. Looking back, I wonder why the state even let “fresh” parents like us take such medically fragile kids.
Answer is? There aren’t enough foster parents, especially ones for high needs kids.
So, as young, naive, and pretty darn ignorant parents, we just did the best we could. Despite our insufficiency, His grace carrying us every step of the way.
Our goal at the time was simply to love babies. Still, looking back, if we would have known a five pound infants having seizures and struggling for breath was such a “faith-filled thing to do”, we might have missed the huge blessing that accompanied being foster parents.
Yes, sometimes….Blind faith and obedience is a great recipe for God to use you.
Want to read more on our adoption journey? Click HERE
You can also find a list of foster and adoption posts by clicking HERE and HERE.
