I am a believer in the power of sharing stories. It builds a community, it invites prayer, it encourages people to share their own stories, and it's a vulnerable transparency into your life. However, I have to come to this place where I can share my story on my own time. It's when I'm comfortable and ready. And these past few weeks, I've felt the tug from God that know is the time to share.
Since January 26, 2016, our family has been on the road to becoming certified to be a foster care family. After 12 classes each, 3 homestudies so far, many references, a really long autobiography, a fire inspection, interviews...we are projected to have our license by the end of September.
It was not easy for me to come to this decision, and I can only say that it is through God speaking to me and literally covering me in an unexplained peace that I finally got here. He put the people and the call right in front of my face, so much so that it was hard to make any other assumptions other than the fact that this is a God directed path. It's a magnificent detour.
God has changed me so completely through this journey that it's overwhelming. It truly is well with my soul. He's moved the mountains, He's parted the waters, He's led me to the right places, and He's strategically placed girl friends in my life who've lifted me up, listened to me cry, shared in my joy, and have talked me through things. I'll talk more through this as the journey continues.
Why did we chose foster care?
"Foster care is a beautiful expression of the gospel – it demands a selfless, costly and potentially painful love for the sake of a child gaining much as we willingly give all. This is exactly what Jesus has done for us." -Jason Johnson
There are MANY children in foster care. So many. And rather than go with an adoption agency and wait in a pool of people hoping to be picked by a family, we decided to help now. These kids need us. It's that simple. We obeyed God's call and He has provided the rest. It's been such an easy walk for our family that we are covered in God's peace. I truly feel a peace in my heart that I've never felt before. God simply asked us to show up and love. And He promises to take care of the rest.
While we hope and pray that we can build our family through a foster-to-adopt scenario, we are simply giving our family to a child. It's such a bittersweet and humbling feeling to know that while we will wait for a little one to walk into our lives, that same little one is leaving their family. It sounds so selfish, but it's reality. Those babies need a place to go, so we will be available.
Mason is so excited and has never expressed any uneasy feelings about this. We currently have a foster baby in our life in another capacity, and so he sees how much this baby needs people to care for it. And he adores this baby. We couldn't thank God enough for sending us such a SMART and WISE boy with such a ginormous, caring heart. Mason just "gets' it. He's so wise beyond his years and he's been included and involved in this process with us the entire time. He keeps hoping for a "baby foster sister" and talks about the idea all the time.
I'll be sharing more on our journey as it continues, but please be respectful of the fact that we can't share names, pictures, or details about any baby that comes into our home.
All we ask for at this time are prayers.
Since January 26, 2016, our family has been on the road to becoming certified to be a foster care family. After 12 classes each, 3 homestudies so far, many references, a really long autobiography, a fire inspection, interviews...we are projected to have our license by the end of September.
It was not easy for me to come to this decision, and I can only say that it is through God speaking to me and literally covering me in an unexplained peace that I finally got here. He put the people and the call right in front of my face, so much so that it was hard to make any other assumptions other than the fact that this is a God directed path. It's a magnificent detour.
God has changed me so completely through this journey that it's overwhelming. It truly is well with my soul. He's moved the mountains, He's parted the waters, He's led me to the right places, and He's strategically placed girl friends in my life who've lifted me up, listened to me cry, shared in my joy, and have talked me through things. I'll talk more through this as the journey continues.
Why did we chose foster care?
"Foster care is a beautiful expression of the gospel – it demands a selfless, costly and potentially painful love for the sake of a child gaining much as we willingly give all. This is exactly what Jesus has done for us." -Jason Johnson
There are MANY children in foster care. So many. And rather than go with an adoption agency and wait in a pool of people hoping to be picked by a family, we decided to help now. These kids need us. It's that simple. We obeyed God's call and He has provided the rest. It's been such an easy walk for our family that we are covered in God's peace. I truly feel a peace in my heart that I've never felt before. God simply asked us to show up and love. And He promises to take care of the rest.
While we hope and pray that we can build our family through a foster-to-adopt scenario, we are simply giving our family to a child. It's such a bittersweet and humbling feeling to know that while we will wait for a little one to walk into our lives, that same little one is leaving their family. It sounds so selfish, but it's reality. Those babies need a place to go, so we will be available.
Mason is so excited and has never expressed any uneasy feelings about this. We currently have a foster baby in our life in another capacity, and so he sees how much this baby needs people to care for it. And he adores this baby. We couldn't thank God enough for sending us such a SMART and WISE boy with such a ginormous, caring heart. Mason just "gets' it. He's so wise beyond his years and he's been included and involved in this process with us the entire time. He keeps hoping for a "baby foster sister" and talks about the idea all the time.
I'll be sharing more on our journey as it continues, but please be respectful of the fact that we can't share names, pictures, or details about any baby that comes into our home.
All we ask for at this time are prayers.
The Bible doesn't promise that following Jesus or Jesus' path will be easy, but it does promise us in
Galatians 6:9 to"...not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." The Bible promises us it will be worth it; it guarantees it, actually.
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