For a while we had been discussing whether our family was complete. We just weren't for sure. We had discussed adoption and foster care but we just didn't know if this was for us. Then a few months ago I read the following verse.
James 2:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
This was my Bible reading literally one of the mornings after Tim and I had discussed it. I put the bold emphasis on the words that stuck out to me. I am very bad about skimming over the words because I have read them before and I do not actually comprehended that God is talking to me. He wrote this book for me to know what I am suppose to be doing. It would be nice if we could just skip over the parts we don't like but that is just not how it works. ( you know that part "slow to speak"...do you think he really meant that one lol)
So anyway when I was reading these verses I kept on thinking....I can say I am a christian but talk really means nothing unless I have actions behind my words. Who wants to listen to someone just talk, my actions can speak much louder than my words.
Two weeks later we had a whole service about foster and adoption at church. A few different couples who are in the process or have finished the adoption process from our church discussed the process and what all is involved.
Tonight we went to our first meeting for the C.A.L.L. This group is a nonprofit that is suppose to help ease the process of getting qualified to be foster parents. We filled out a bunch of paper work to start getting our approval started. They even had someone there for fingerprinting. We did not have this done since it was already so late and we had the two youngest boys with us. Needless to say we were about to pull our hair out with Ti.
By the way some total stranger left their little girl in the nursery with Tim. Tim had went back there with Ti and the father and daughter came back a little while later and the father just left their little girl. WEIRD Not for sure they would be good foster parents. When we were going to leave Tim had to go find the dad to come get his daughter because we didn't think they would want her left back there by herself. The guy told Tim and he could just bring her to him and then Tim politely told him "I don't work here... I was just back there with my son" Totally weird situation. I would never just drop my kid off for someone else to watch. Especially my daughter with a man I didn't know. I know this was totally off the subject but I was sure you would want to hear this story.
Our next step is to take our CPR training and our two weekend of classes. My goodness you have to train a lot. I sure didn't go through this much training before I had my own kids. Maybe I should have.
Some things I want to remember...
Andrew "Let's make sure we don't get a girl"
Dad "Andrew, we are getting a girl"
Andrew "Well, lets not let her see a barbie doll so she won't want to play with one"
Mom "We will have to buy some girl toys"
Andrew "Let's name her trawlalala"
Mom "No"
Mom "What would you think if she was black"
Noah "That wouldn't matter"
Andrew "Well that would just be weird, we couldn't see her in the dark"
Noah "Andrew, You can't see us in the dark either"
Mom & Dad ....trying not to laugh.
Andrew took notice tonight when they said that we could have up to eight kids in our home counting our own. He went to the meeting with us. He was hoping we would get a child tonight. He was disappointed when we told him that wasn't how it worked. At some points we will have to decide for sure what we are capable of taking care of. Currently we will probably only take a child under the age of two and probably we would prefer a girl. Of course as soon as I say this God might decide something different for us. It will probably be around May before we will even be approved.
This whole thing of course kind of makes me nervous. One of the quotes that stuck out to me tonight was the question "what does a family look like to you?" I am not for sure what our family looks like in the future but something I do know that if God has called us to do it he will make us capable.
We realize that this is not for everyone and some will think we are crazy but if God wants us to do this we must follow. Please continue to pray for us on this journey that we will be open to what the Lord has planned for our family.
