To the woman who has stepped into a child’s life and story and heart. Who has decided to love, when she had no reason to have to. Who has adopted the role of mother, for a short time or forever...
All in foster-care
Losing Heart • When What I See Isn't Enough
Throughout my journey as a foster parent, I’ve often been confused by what I’ve seen play out in my life and the lives of the children I love. But I don’t focus on that.
When We Know Their Names, They're Harder To Ignore.
It's National Foster Care Month. A time when we have conversations about foster care. A time when we pause and pay attention to these children and their needs. A time when we consider what it all has to do with us.
Grieving Adoption
I didn't know or realize or want to see that just because we're a forever family doesn't mean that the past won't be a part of that forever.
Foster Care is Broken. I Am Broken.
I could be sitting on the sidelines, in blissful ignorance of the brokenness that surrounds me, enjoying the whole-ness of a sweet and sheltered life. Missing out on the beauty of breaking off pieces of my heart and my life to make another whole.
Is Foster Care Worth All Of the Pain and Agony?
We could add up all of the reasons why a person shouldn't be a foster parent. But we could do that with just about anything on earth. What about the reasons you should?
I Put On A Brave Face, But I Don't Feel Ok.
I put on a brave face. I don't feel brave. I feel afraid. I feel sad. I feel all of it: good, bad, and ugly. But I put on the brave face. Not because I want to fake it. But because I want my face--and my feelings--to come in line with what I think, what I believe, what I know.
A Love Letter to Single Foster + Adoptive Moms
You are my hero. You're a hero to me. You're a hero to the community or church or family around you, watching you. You're a hero to the children in your home, being loved by you. You're a living, breathing, real-life super hero.
I Just Don't Want To Hand Him Over Today...
This foster care life is a constant placing of your child in someone else’s hands. Literally and actually, in workers’ and judges’ and lawyers’ hands. Oh, I wish I were in control. I wish I could slam the door in the worker's face. I wish I could tell the judge, “So here’s what you gotta do.” I wish I could just change mom with a snap of the fingers. I wish, so deeply, I wish.
My Thankful Life: When God Doesn't Answer All Your Prayers
I'm thankful that every word I speak, every dish I scrub, every diaper I change, every spill I clean that’s done out of love for my Savior is divinely transformed from a mom’s chore into a daughter’s worship. I’m thankful the menial, outwardly-worthless moments of my day have purpose and have worth.
TEN WAYS YOU CAN HELP CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
May is Foster Care Awareness Month. From making a meal to babysitting to donating, praying to mentoring to becoming a foster parent, EVERYONE CAN DO SOMETHING. Here are 10 ways you can stand for children in foster care
Stop Using the "Broken System" as an Excuse
We mirror this Jesus when we leave our comfort to step into brokenness...The fact that the system and its people are broken is the very reason we engage it.
The Answers to All of Your Foster Parenting Questions
I don’t just struggle through the “how” questions, I struggle through the “why” questions, the “what if” ones. I don’t just question myself, I question God.
This Moment With Our Son - Lisa's Story #writeyourheartout
This moment that hit me hard, almost as if I had walked into a brick wall. And I thought to myself, “We are literally all he’s got.”
"This is Us" Isn't Just a TV Show
Seeing foster care and adoption on the screen like this is a gift to foster and adoptive families. But it’s not just a gift to those of us who are living it. It’s a gift to everyone else, too.
“Are You OK With This?”: Saying Good-bye to My Son
When his worker called to tell me that his family had been ruled out, she asked if I would be willing to adopt him. “Well, I love him...and I would love to be his mom forever...but I don’t think I’m supposed to be...and I think I know who is.”
My Foster Children Are Better Off With Me
You see, at least in every case I’ve experienced, I have a stronger “parental resume” than my foster children’s parents.
Write Your Heart Out: "The Lasts" By Melissa
And so the past few days were filled with “lasts”...
Tips For Supporting Reunification
A few months ago, I was contacted by the American Bar Association's Center For Children and the Law. I was asked to participate in a survey of five foster families from around the county. The goal? Create a list of tips for foster families to promote and support reunification. Here's the result!
My Foster Child’s Family Is My Enemy
And sometimes it’s hard. Like the family who slanders me on social media, who calls in an investigation on me, who continually puts the child at risk, who acts like court is a game to be won. Sometimes it’s very, very hard.
I call it like it is: You are my enemy.