I have just become the mother of a teenager and she is medically fragile – not what I had originally planned.
Daphne was placed in our family three weeks ago. She is a foster child and she suffers from chronic kidney failure. We want to adopt her.
“So… why are you doing this?” – one of the nurses asked me at the hospital last week.
I must admit I felt a little annoyed at the question.
Seems pretty obvious to me.
- This child needs a forever family and we want to be that family.
- God asks us to care for the orphan so we’re trying to obey Him.
- Daphne is an amazing young lady whose courage and resilience are an inspiration to us, we love her, and we want her to be our daughter.
And I could go on and on…
But you know, those answers did not come to me overnight.
Ten years ago I became a social worker. My first year, I worked in a group home for foster kids aged 3 to 12 years old. I will never forget the children I met that year – every night I came home and told my husband all about them. They were funny, they were cute, but they were hurting. Their stories were heartbreaking. When I read their court reports, I wanted to cry. I wanted to take their pain away. I wanted to become their mother. My husband was touched by what he heard and agreed to open up our home to kids in need of a family – someday, in the near future.
Six years later, we were living in the Seattle area with our 3 year old daughter. We had been trying to get pregnant with a second child without success for the past 18 months.
We had heard about Antioch Adoptions and frequently talked about the plan we had made a few years back to adopt children from the foster care system. We had many questions so we decided to go to an introductory class Antioch organized over the summer.
God spoke to both my husband and I as we were reminded of God’s heart for the orphans and our responsibility to care for them. So we become licensed foster parents – an unusually long process in our case. As we waited, questions, doubts, and fear arose.
How is this going to affect our “comfortable” family life?
What if it’s too hard and we fail?
What if the child goes back to their birth parents?
How will this affect our biological kids?
What if this child has experienced too much trauma and our love is not sufficient?
All the time I felt that God was really calling us, but regularly I’d get scared. Talking to others, even believers, didn’t always make things easier. You know, there is so much fear linked to the term “foster child.” People around us felt the urge to tell us about stories they’d heard regarding foster kids… none of them had happy endings…
Yes, we knew it wouldn’t be easy. Every night we asked God to prepare us. We asked for his peace, and He gave it to us. I was frequently reminded that when God calls us to do something, He equips us, and He has.
I have just become the mother of a teenager and she is medically fragile – not what I had originally planned.
But God is faithful.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
October is Double Impact Month at Antioch Adoptions so all donations will be doubled up to $70,000 – please help us reach our goal and help children find forever families right here in our own backyard!
