A Brave New World

It's official! We are in the early stages of foster-adopting. This means we have about 100 pages to fill out about who we are, what we believe, how we were raised, how we raise our kids, it goes on and on. We will be interviewed separately and together. Our 8 year old and 5 year old will be interviewed. There are classes to take and changes to make to our house to make it safe. All of this so we can take one (or two!) children in and provide them with a loving and nurturing environment. All of this so we can be trusted with someone else's children. 

Image from The Many Hats of a Momtog

I realize as I write this that it can sound jaded and cynical. I don't want to be jaded and cynical, We haven't even started yet. I am going into this with my eyes as wide open as they can be. I know we want to do this, I know God is calling us to do this, but sometimes my brain goes into overdrive and I wonder if it will all be worth it. Will I get anything out of this? Am I just going to give, give, give and get nothing in return? Then I stop and I breathe and I reaffirm for myself what God has already given me. Love, unconditional, without ceasing, merciful, wonderful love. And that is what He's asking me to give the children. For as long as I have the honor and privilege of caring for these kids, I need to love them. I need to be a safe haven, a consistent buoy in the sea of inconsistencies they have been living in. We can share our food, our toys and our time. It won't cost us much materially. It will cost us emotionally, but I believe with all my heart that it will benefit us spiritually. I believe that God will use these children to teach us Love. I believe that we will learn many lessons in this chapter of our lives. 

"Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my 

behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me

 welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me."

 Mark 9:37 NLT

So, here we go into this Brave New World. I can't promise I won't encourage you to check your heart and your home and see if maybe you have room for one (or two!) more, but I do hope you'll come back and check on us here in our little corner of the internet!