The other day there was a big beautiful rainbow right in front of our house. The kids and I decided that our yellow house was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In the bible, the rainbow is God's promise that he will never completely destroy the world by flood again. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about God's promises to our family.When Daniel and I got married we both felt that God was telling us that we would have a large family with lots of kids and that we would become a foster and adoptive family. We felt that His plan for us was to help many many children and teens. We actually first realized that God might intend for us to be together when Daniel overheard me telling his mom that I thought God wanted me to someday have a special group home for teen girls where I could help them learn life skills. He was surprised because that was the exact same vision for the future that God had given to Daniel. Before that day, Daniel and I had barely even been friends. It was more of a "friend of a friend" relationship.
Here we are 13 years later. We're seeing the beginning of God's plans unfolding in our lives. So far we've fostered 17 kids and adopted two of them. At the end of this month our foster care license will be renewed and we'll officially reopen our home as an "emergency intake home" so that we can help even more kids. Will we someday have a group home for teen girls like we thought we would so many year ago? I believe so, because God is faithful to keep His promises. But I also think, seeing the world and our country change so rapidly this past year, that the reality of our future may be very very different than anything we imagined back then. I'm excited to see what God has in store for us and how it will all turn out! Lord, help me not to be a worrier.
3 comments:
Neat story and neat picture. You have a beautiful family.
I have a question for you that maybe you could blog about sometime. Do your girls get along with Brianna and include her? Has it been difficult for them to add her to their activities they always shared with each other? Just curious.
What a great post. It is so true that God has great plans for us if we will but listen to him. That is one of my silver linings of my divorce. I have always felt a drive to foster/adopt, but it wasn't DH's plan. Now, I can put that plan in motion when it is the Lord's time! :)
Actually, Brianna has had a harder time adjusting than the girls have. My girls, by now, are used to having to share and play together with new kids who come into our family. Brianna has only really had her little brother and sister to play with and she mostly just mothered them.
She's learning how to play together, share, take turns, and be imaginative with older kids. It's hard on her some days. She has a melt down and we let her get it out of her system in her room in privacy and then come back out and join us when she's ready. It's a whole lot of changes to adjust to.
She'll get there. Our family motto should be like the Borg from Star Trek, "You will be assimilated!" :)
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