Deep in My Heart

Let me start by saying that this post has nothing to do with country life or the simple life. It is about a subject that is etched deep in my heart. Orphans. Not orphans who's parents have passed away. Orphans who have been removed from their parents for one reason or another, usually by way of abuse or neglect.

I speak of the children who are in our nation's foster care system. These children range from day old infants up to 18 years old. More than 300,000 are in our foster care system. Over 100,000 of them are available for adoption. These numbers are staggering. So many children, so few willing families. Not enough families are willing to adopt a child from the system let alone become foster parents. It is a huge responsibility, yes. But if we don't care for these kids, who will?

These children are our future. Regardless of how bad their life has been, they will still turn 18 some day and age out of the system with or without a strong family foundation to lean on. The Bible tells us to take care of the widows and the orphans. We are to bring the orphans into our family and make them our children as we have been made children of our Heavenly Father.

With all of this being said, I have to share something. Without going into too much detail, first, we are in the process of adopting a family member who's in the foster care system. We absolutely would not have it any other way. Kin is kin. We care for our own.

Second, this has opened our door and our hearts to become foster parents to help other children in the system. There is a huge need for foster and adoptive parents. Not everybody has the desire or the means of taking care of kin.

As we get closer to becoming licensed, I find myself getting excited at the prospect of having more children in our home. I'm not happy about how or why they will be living with us. It saddens me to think about what a child must be going through when taken from the only family they know. The family that let them down time and time again.

On the positive side, the maternal thing is taking charge. The best way I can explain it is it's almost like when a woman is pregnant, anticipating the birth of her child. The waiting, the wondering, the planning. The age range we will foster will be 0-5 year old boys. I am doing everything in my power to not go shopping in the infant/toddler section at the stores. It would be wise to be prepared with a few items for the various age ranges. However, it's not necessary to go crazy and buy all sorts of brand new items. Still being a farmgirl at heart, being thrifty is the way to go.

I did buy new bedding for the spare bed in case we get an older child. Remembering when our family member came to live with us last year, he was SO excited to have a bed and a bedroom of his own. It's amazing and sad how the necessities of life become luxuries and are so much more appreciated when a child has been forced to live without them.

Our appointment to fill out paperwork with the social worker is 3 long weeks away. It won't be until September at the earliest when we're approved for our license. Then we just wait for the call. The call from a social worker letting us know that they need a home to place children, our home. That wait will be over. Then the new wait starts. In the meantime, my plan is to nurture and love on the kids that the Lord sends our way. If we're patient and faithful, He might even let us adopt one or more.

For resources/information on foster care adoption, please visit these websites: www.davethomasfoundation.com , www.adoptuskids.org