Chronicling the joys and challenges of fostering and adopting.


Saturday, March 16, 2013

Fostering Frustrations...

We are heading into our third month of having our sweet girls! However, this road seems to be getting harder rather than easier.

After we thought we had "figured out" our oldest daughters triggers in avoiding episodes and meltdowns, we are getting into the nitty gritty of the court system.

They tell you over and over again that the goal of fostering is reunification, but I won't lie to you, my heart desires these daughters to be our daughters forever. We fall in love with them more and more every day. Even in dealing with severe meltdowns with our oldest, we wouldn't give her up for the world.

I'm not sure where God is guiding and directing us in all of this, but I know He is sovereign. I'm currently in a Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and Kay Arthur study called Faithful, Abundant, True. The past few weeks have been about God's power, and how to live in His power. We are His daughters filled by the Holy Spirit to do great things. Jesus tells us in John 14:11-13, "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father will be glorified in the Son." Priscilla says that she often prays, "Do this or do something greater." My prayer is: Please give us these girls God, or do something better with them.

As foster parents, we have practically zero rights over these girls--these girls they tell me to be a mommy to, but don't actually be a mom to them (but that's a rant for a whole other time). But because we don't have any rights in the legal system, I have had to step back and see what I can do for these girls. And a verse was put before me that I know God wanted me to hear for this moment: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine POWER to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Our place as their foster parents is to be praying fervently over them and loving them as much as we possibly can. There is such an urgency to do everything all at once, but we are exhausted! That's why I am so incredibly appreciative of the friends and family who have banned with us in investing in these girls life. I even have friends and family who aren't here in town who are dedicated to praying often for us and the girls. And the battle is truly being fought in the spiritual realms, not in the court system. I don't know how we could do this without support of those who love us and who love the girls. Thank you!

Keep on praying and fighting for these girls to be victorious in the will God has designed for them. They are amazing. And if you haven't gotten a chance to meet them yet, make it so we HAVE to do something. Our lives are crazier everyday, but these girls need to know they are loved by so many, even more so loved by God.

Again, thank you to those who are supporting us. We truly don't know how we could do this without you.