Thoughts On Foster Care

As we've been discussing foster care and carefully making the decision to do so, we feel that it's what's best for our family at this time. Admittedly, the idea of doing so is absolutely terrifying. We have a baby in the house. Our "parent anxiety" (aka: the superhuman power of overreacting to everything that happens to the child or what the child does. For instance, dancing around the house when she clapped her hands for the jillionth time or wanting to hold her and never put her back on the floor when she crawls without looking and bumps her head on the wall.) already makes us terrified of everything outside our home that could potentially harm her, such as malicious biting butterflies (believe me, they exist after the baby comes) or the imaginary crazy guy who's always around the corner waiting for innocent little Anya's to come his way. With foster care, some children have had unspeakably horrible things happen to them. The consequences of these events generally will be evidenced in their behavior.

The trainer for our classes said, "If you have kids at home and are going to do foster care, you'd better be scared! What kind of parent would you be if you weren't scared? However, many foster parents with kids in their homes still say it's worth it." Well, apparently we're good parents, since the thought of my baby being picked on at the park makes me sad. Being picked on by someone living with us is an idea that keeps me up at night.

There are lots of reasons not to do this. Maybe we're crazy, well, more crazy than normal, but neither Daniel or I can get around this feeling that this is the right choice. As we've prayed about this choice and how it will affect our precious, beautiful daughter, I at least have felt that if the Lord wants us to do this, He'll help provide safety and security for our baby. Daniel has felt similarly. I know that to lots of people we sound crazy to the point of irresponsibility. Be that as it may, this choice is right. It's not irresponsible. We have the power to make a difference in the world, so why not take it? It's not about the reimbursement we'd get. Frankly, any money we recieve from the state will go straight to the kids. It's about...doing what's right. It's about making a difference in our family and in the world.