Confessions of a Foster Mom
Little did I dream years ago, new to Macon with four young children of my own, that I'd be fostering newborn babies in our home. Destiny has her ways. Stopping at a Chick-Fil-A on the way home from Atlanta I noticed a Caucasian family with the tiniest African-American baby at the booth in back of us. As we asked the usual questions of how old is the baby etc., the conversation turned to foster care with Covenant Care. I had only briefly heard of Covenant Care from a neighbor before we moved, but as we talked about fostering, the Lord spoke to my heart and into my spirit, "You can do this". I'd been praying for the Lord to use me somehow but had never dreamed of fostering. It was such a divine moment and an idea that continued to tug on my heart.
Why, my husband wondered, do we need any more babies? Our youngest child could finally get in and out of her car seat alone. Everyone was sleeping through the night- why another baby?
The Lord wouldn't let it go. I wrestled in prayer knowing in my heart this was something we had to at least "try". I figured we could try it once and if it didn't work out at least we'd tried! Months later, we (Dave) got brave enough to begin the process of becoming foster parents as we waited to see what would happen next.
Christmas Eve 2000 we received the call- a baby girl. "Christy" was with us a short whirlwind of three days as her birth mother had a change of heart and took Christy home. "Jesse" arrived in February and we had the privilege of meeting his adoptive family eight weeks later.
Dozens of babies later, I still stand amazed at how blessed we've been as a family to be part of Covenant Care, to be able to love and pray for these precious children. We've been stretched as we've cried and rejoiced over their little lives. It has been incredible to watch the hand of God ordain, direct and orchestrate.
There is something special about each child we care for however one little boy and his family stand out in our hearts. One fall day, as I was holding baby "Ian" and singing during a worship service, the Lord touched my heart deeply with the words of a particular song. I started praying for and weeping over this precious baby and I knew this song and these words spoke of the Lords love for Ian. "You are my Beloved, my creation and I love you as you are. I have called you chosen for my kingdom, I'm unashamed to call you my own, You are My Beloved."
That became our theme song for Ian (and for all the babies to follow). My daughter sang it for his new family a few months later at his adoption. His new dad is a worship leader and was already familiar with this song and in those moments there was such a divine knitting of our families hearts together as we worshipped, thanked and praised our sovereign, loving Savior.
We truly love these babies that come our way. They're not always convenient but always a blessing. We count it as a privilege to be a small part of the great work the Lord is doing through Covenant Care Services. We're often asked, "How do you give them up?” I just know these babies are not mine. The Lord has placed such a joy in my heart that we are so excited for the adoptive families- what a blessing they're receiving. Of course we miss them for a few days, we wonder if they slept through the night and how the new parents are doing but there is that deep joy at seeing His plans fulfilled. We are His Beloved, He is so unashamed to call us His own.