Guest Blogger: Foster Mama Reflects on the First Hello and Goodbye

-

Related image
In May of 2016, our family made a decision to change our lives forever. We decided to join a system I'd been part of as a baby over 42 years ago. We believed God called us to grow our family one little life at a time through foster care.

We were licensed in September, and then by October we were picking up the 2 week old baby boy we'd been praying for. For 18 1/2 months we helped him grow and learn. For 81 weeks, we watched as he explored this awesome world. For 567 days, we taught him what a safe, stable and loving family/home is like. Now, this baby boy lives with his forever family, a family we love, who will give him a lifetime of chances and opportunities.

Is foster care difficult? ABSOLUTELY! God never said following Him would be easy. It's hard to see his empty bed and it's quiet without his footsteps. But, it's incredible to see how God protected him from harm, used us to care for him for a season, and then provided him a family that will be there to meet all his needs and support him forever.

As hard as our first case has been at times, and now in the letting go, it's even more amazing. Seeing God move in our family and friends through this little boy is a wonderful sight. Our church has blessed us with many prayers, and sometimes, just because; cases of wipes. Our friends and family loved and supported us/him the entire time and helped us love him like he was born to us. It is our best friend's family that is adopting him.


We have a strong village of other foster families who lend an ear and share their shoulder to cry on when we need it. We have a support group of knowledgeable other foster parents and community leaders to help us navigate the system that sometimes seems really broken. We felt an entire community who donated clothes, diapers, meals, baby sat for date nights, and so much more.

Now that we've been through our first placement and our first goodbye, we ask ourselves and our two teenage children....Do we do this again? Do we open our home to another little one? Do we open our hearts to so many emotions? Do we say goodbye again? The answer without hesitation is YES!!

Oconee County Foster Mama
Image result for letting go foster care image

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing with us.

Popular posts from this blog

Ode to Foster Daddies!

-
Image
This Father's Day, I'd like to pay a tribute to all the Daddies that love kids that are not really "theirs" just like they are.  This hard calling might be easier for a mama that's nurturing and typically wired more for compassion and empathy, but foster Daddies are right there in the trenches cleaning up spit up or vomit-filled car seats, and changing plenty of dirty diapers for kids that will never remember their sacrifices. He gets up with another man's baby in the middle of the night. When no one shows up for visits, He shows up to play Legos. He speaks gently and graciously to a single mother whose drug abuse impacted his life greatly. When no one else is willing to step up for a child, He does. He puts together a crib suddenly for a teen foster child, and her new baby. When his wife has no dinner plans due to the chaos that reigns and 400 minutes she spent on the phone with child welfare issues, he scrambles eggs or hits the drive th...
Read more
-
Image
Our Foster Care Journey: Stepping out to try Respite Care By Mary H, Fostering Faithfully Respite Care provider, now licensing!   Just over two years ago I began to feel the tug on my heart regarding children in foster care. I felt like I heard the need for foster parents advertised everywhere and even spent time crying in our living room floor heartbroken for the children with no one to tuck them in at night. So I started praying. God, what can I do? I need to do something, but I don't know what? Well, the Lord answers prayers and soon after Foothills Community Church played a video talking about foster care in our area advertising an evening class to get more information. I told my husband I had to go and he, not quite sure what to do with my new conviction, went with me. The class and continued prayers only increased our belief that we were supposed to get involved with foster care and it gave us a place to start. A big part of me was ready to jump right in...
Read more