Letting go and Letting God...
So we moved our dear JJ to her reunifying home where the reunification with her bio-mom will be fostered. We fostered her physical and emotional well-being, her heart and her soul but we just cannot foster the reunification being over an hour away.
That being said, the home she is in is the first foster home she ever was in. Everything has come full circle and this woman is amazing and loves her dearly. She still had pictures up of JJ all around her house. She still had little bracelets of hers hanging from nightstand drawer handles where JJ had placed them. We feel so good about it. She would love to adopt JJ if the reunification doesn’t work out and we believe that would be awesome for JJ and we would maintain contact with her there forever!
One thing I have learned is that I know I am “good” at fostering because I am “good” at parting ways. I think this is God putting a special band-aid on my heart to be able to do this. I actually feel guilty that anyone I love has to mourn her loss but for me I am ok with loving a child like she was my own and letting that child go. Somehow I see that that was my role in this case. She needed a protector, she needed an advocate, she needed a mommy and a daddy and she needed Jesus. Not to mention some princess shows for her memory bank and some beautiful dresses for her closet ;)
Proverbs 22:6 says Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6 says Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
She was loved by a host of people and she got to experience what a functioning family is like. She learned 20+ new songs, some Spanish, how to make eye contact and the list goes on.
Her time with us was invaluable and it got her into the original home she was in which may be her forever home if the reunification fails which would be such a blessing!!!
Sometimes I feel an itch to have another child around but then I relish in the peacefulness that is having just one for a change. We need a restful time to refresh ourselves and prepare for the next child…whoever and whenever that might be =D
I like being a foster parent …it is a noble calling, one that will change your core. It is not for wimps. It takes an incredible and sacrificial person to do this job. Some say parenting is the toughest and most important job on this earth and I agree with that statement. But I would take it up a notch and say foster parenting is.
By taking someone else’s child into your home and into your heart as if that child is your own and you give your all for that child in hopes that it makes a difference, all the while knowing that you will probably not be able to keep that child. Then you are strong and courageous!
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
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