Here we are. It's that first part of the roller coaster where you slowly climb up the huge hill. You can see the crest at the top and it's exciting, but you're a little nervous, too. This is our first time riding this rollercoaster and we expect lots of high highs and low lows, but we really don't know what to expect, ya know? But here we are in the front seat. We're almost to the very top and a whole new adventure awaits.
Jake caught up to my foster parent training, so we both only have one in-person class, two webinars, and one doctor visit to go before our home study. All of this should be wrapped up in the next two weeks!
There are really a lot of misconceptions about foster care, so I hope that taking y'all through the process with us will help to clear some things up. One thing I wanted to address today is how foster care has been brought up a lot recently in the abortion debate. It shows a HUGE misunderstanding about who is in foster care and what foster care is for.
So, let's clear that up real quick. Children are placed in foster care when their parent or guardian has abused them in some way and sometimes the baby is taken at birth if the birth mom has exhibited dangerous behavior (drug or alcohol abuse). Children who enter foster care are not immediately available for adoption, and most never become available for adoption. The goal of the foster care system is reunification. If all goes according to plan, bio parents get their life together and kids go back home. Children become available for adoption if/when parents give up rights to their child or those rights are taken away by a judge.
Foster care has been something on my heart for as long as I can remember. My parents were foster parents when I was growing up. My grandparents were foster parents when my mom was young. Maybe that's why I've always felt a tug to do this, but I'm not sure that's even it. I hear some say they were called to this, but I don't put much stock in waiting on a "calling" from God. Yes, we are all gifted in different ways, but God has already called everyone to certain work like caring for orphans and widows and other things that are spelled out clearly for us in His word. But there is a heartbreak in my soul so gut-wrenching when I think of children taken from abusive situations that I can no longer NOT do this.
I know that there are many people who have that same heartbreak, but they think they can't foster, or don't really know what else to do. I'll be posting again about ways to get involved! In the meantime, do you know any foster families? One thing I have learned quickly is that most of the support foster families receive is from other foster families, so offering to babysit, taking them a meal, dropping by for some adult interaction are all things that can support the foster families in your life. One of the large concerns I have is that we don't have a huge network of a support system in place, so it's going to be a lot on our shoulders. I am praying that God equips us to handle it and that we have people placed in our lives to help during the times that we can't.
Thankfully we haven't received a lot of negative feedback about our decision to become foster parents. I tell Jake all the time that I feel like I'm generally a nice person, but I must give off a "don't mess with me" vibe because if anyone (other than my mother) has an issue with my decisions, they sure don't ever say it to me! (Mom, on the other hand, doesn't mind ever telling me what she thinks about what I do. That's what moms are for, right? lol) We have heard some concerns from some, but y'all. This is God work. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be exciting. It's gonna be unpredictable. It's gonna be the most challenging thing we'll ever do. It's gonna be rewarding. It's gonna be scary. But we are so sure that God wants us to do this that we're doing it scared.
Jake caught up to my foster parent training, so we both only have one in-person class, two webinars, and one doctor visit to go before our home study. All of this should be wrapped up in the next two weeks!
There are really a lot of misconceptions about foster care, so I hope that taking y'all through the process with us will help to clear some things up. One thing I wanted to address today is how foster care has been brought up a lot recently in the abortion debate. It shows a HUGE misunderstanding about who is in foster care and what foster care is for.
So, let's clear that up real quick. Children are placed in foster care when their parent or guardian has abused them in some way and sometimes the baby is taken at birth if the birth mom has exhibited dangerous behavior (drug or alcohol abuse). Children who enter foster care are not immediately available for adoption, and most never become available for adoption. The goal of the foster care system is reunification. If all goes according to plan, bio parents get their life together and kids go back home. Children become available for adoption if/when parents give up rights to their child or those rights are taken away by a judge.
Foster care has been something on my heart for as long as I can remember. My parents were foster parents when I was growing up. My grandparents were foster parents when my mom was young. Maybe that's why I've always felt a tug to do this, but I'm not sure that's even it. I hear some say they were called to this, but I don't put much stock in waiting on a "calling" from God. Yes, we are all gifted in different ways, but God has already called everyone to certain work like caring for orphans and widows and other things that are spelled out clearly for us in His word. But there is a heartbreak in my soul so gut-wrenching when I think of children taken from abusive situations that I can no longer NOT do this.
I know that there are many people who have that same heartbreak, but they think they can't foster, or don't really know what else to do. I'll be posting again about ways to get involved! In the meantime, do you know any foster families? One thing I have learned quickly is that most of the support foster families receive is from other foster families, so offering to babysit, taking them a meal, dropping by for some adult interaction are all things that can support the foster families in your life. One of the large concerns I have is that we don't have a huge network of a support system in place, so it's going to be a lot on our shoulders. I am praying that God equips us to handle it and that we have people placed in our lives to help during the times that we can't.
Thankfully we haven't received a lot of negative feedback about our decision to become foster parents. I tell Jake all the time that I feel like I'm generally a nice person, but I must give off a "don't mess with me" vibe because if anyone (other than my mother) has an issue with my decisions, they sure don't ever say it to me! (Mom, on the other hand, doesn't mind ever telling me what she thinks about what I do. That's what moms are for, right? lol) We have heard some concerns from some, but y'all. This is God work. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be exciting. It's gonna be unpredictable. It's gonna be the most challenging thing we'll ever do. It's gonna be rewarding. It's gonna be scary. But we are so sure that God wants us to do this that we're doing it scared.
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