I am so passionate about this whole foster parenting and adoption thing that I can't help but share. I share with you all. I share at work. I share at home. I share in my family. I share in the system. God didn't place this passion in mie until we faced infertility, admittedly, but since then I've been compelled to do something.
Surely I hope this passion and advocacy helps encourage others to get involved either by supporting foster and adoptive parents or, ideally, by becoming foster and/or adoptive parents themselves. Though regardless we'd continue this mission as long as we're called, it's also nice to know that through our story others may also join in.
Today I have the great privilege to congratulate my sister and her family for receiving their license yesterday. They live about a mile from us and though we live in different cities and different counties (!!!) we are now licensed through the same county office. They are dual licensed for the same age range we are so I'm excited to be able to pool resources for clothes and other gear.
Now they sit, waiting for their first placement call. I remember those days. We received notice that our license was approved on a Friday afternoon and from then on I knew we could get "the call" any minute. For an entire week I anticipated that call. By the next weekend that anticipation had died down a little bit and I stopped thinking the call would happen "any minute". And then it came - 11:45 pm was the minute. The rest is history.
Today I'm very thankful that we've had the opportunity to encourage this family (and at least one other that I know of) to become foster parents. So many out there who think "they could never do it" and at one point in time our family and these other two felt the same way. I know we felt it was "for someone else". It wasn't a hostile position against foster care but just one of ignorance of the system and what we could do with God's help.
Thank you God. Thank you for giving us infertility. Thank you for showing us through this very difficult and painful condition how much you love life and children. Thank you for showing us that there is something bigger out there than the dreams and goals we may have for our own lives and families. Thank you for broadening our vision to include care for these children and many more who need good parents. Thank you for using infertility to open our hearts and leave holes in our home that could not be filled with our own biological children but instead are left open for children born to others who for one reason or another cannot provide proper care for their children. Some will stay forever, others for hours or days, but God we know that you will hold them for a lifetime. Thank you for allowing us to participate in this magnificent mission of caring for YOUR children.
And thank you for letting this passion be contagious.
1 comment:
Amen
Post a Comment