Happily Ever After

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”—Romans 15:13 (ESV)

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”—Philippians 4:4 (ESV)

“Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”—Nehemiah 8:10 (ESV)

We spent three months getting licensed to foster and got our first placement before the ink was dry on our approval! It went so well that we were excited for the next one.

While waiting for the phone call for our next placement, my husband lost his job. This unexpected wrench in our plans made us question whether or not we could or should continue fostering. Not knowing whether we would even be able to stay in the state, we switched to respite care, where we’d only temporarily look after other parents’ foster children when needed.

During this time of severe doubt about the future, a friend called and said, “What are you doing? You know God is calling you to foster.” After four respite placements and recognizing how desperate the system was for foster homes, we stepped up in faith and reopened our home to foster, despite our financial situation.

One day soon after, the phone rang at 6:30 pm. The placement request was not just for one baby, but two—twins! Without even thinking, I said yes. My daughter, son, and husband happened to be in the same room when the phone rang and was listening from the kitchen as my daughter shouted, “I think Mom just said yes to twins!”

We pressed into the craziness of double feedings for the 6-month-old boy and girl who came to us weighing 8 and 10 pounds. It was double diapers, double baths, and probably 10 times the amount of laundry since they both had severe acid reflux for a grueling eight months.

Despite the fear and uncertainty of our financial situation, we trusted God when we agreed to welcome these babies into our home. God honored our faith and less than a month later, both my husband and I found good jobs. My entire family’s faith was strengthened when we saw how God provided what we needed to keep going, even though we took that first step without knowing what was coming.

We would like to thank the Foster Care Vision Team at Calvary Chapel for providing this plan.

For more information, please contact CalvaryFTL.org/FosterCare.