My Foster Care Story
I remember coming home, my mother’s house. A few years after I left home, and I saw two young ladies that looked just alike. One a little older than the other,I could tell they were related. So I asked my mother, who’s that? and she said that’s your sisters, I said mam is there something you need to tell me, cause I know my mama wasn’t getting down like that. That’s how I was introduced to foster care.
My Mom had taken in 2 foster kids. I didn’t know their story, didn’t know their past, didn’t know age, I didn’t even know the names.
But what I did know was my mother’s heart, and if she felt the need to bring them in her home. I know that she was doing the right thing. And when I looked into their eyes, I did know that that’s where they wanted to be.
Over the next few years my mother and papa Jones took in 4 more foster kids. And they all called me their brother, and now I know their lives were changed forever.
So why foster care? I will give you two words, Impact and Influence.
Here is an opportunity to Impact a child’s life forever and influence them to go into a positive direction. You simply “get” the opportunity to mold the future of a young persons life.
Many times when we serve others. We feel like we’re be a blessing to them, when end up being the ones who are “blessed” That’s the feeling you can’t describe.
A foster care home, whether with a single parent or couple, affords a child the opportunity to develop healthy emotional connection, trust, self-esteem and the opportunity to learn valuable life skills.
A foster parent’s most important role for the duration of the child’s stay is to be that of a teacher and/or mentor.
Many times, we want to put the responsibility off on others. Like that’s not for me, or that’s someone else’s job. Or I’ve heard this one, God is going to change their situation.
Well HOW? He’s going to do it through you.
You’re giving a person to be a part of something positive. The world offers kids so much. It’s not always positive. They biggest thing is you are presenting a child an opportunity to be a part of something BIG. To be a part of a family, what many of us take for granted, because the majority of us have had one.
To be a part of a community, life is not meant to be lived alone. We was created to coexist together. To feel like they have a place and purpose in this world. Thats what you are giving.
A child growing up deserves every opportunity that many of us have had. By becoming a foster parent you give hope, the hope of being a productive person in life. The hope of having their own family one day, the hope of not becoming just another statistic. That’s the kind of hope we all deserve.
Many young people are being raised and influenced by social media, a fantasy world, an illusion. Because people only want you to see the best part of their lives. What they post on tic tok, snap chat, Instagram.
Why not become ”A Real” influence that some young person so desperately needs. Instead of a tik tok dance challenge. I want to present a new challenge to you today. #Foster parent challenge.
I challenge you to change the entire trajectory of a child’s life. I challenge you to share what you’ve been blessed with. A home, a family, friends. I challenge you to impact a child’s life for the better. I challenge you to invite a young person into your home and more importantly into your heart…will you?
Will you accept the challenge. Will you accept the opportunity to become a foster parent?
Story: One day a man was walking along the beach after a storm, and he saw thousands of starfish washed along the shore. That’s when he noticed a boy hurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “Young man, what are you doing?” The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” The man laughed to himself and said, “Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and thousands of starfish? You can’t make any difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, “I made a difference to that one.”
We all have the opportunity to help create positive change, but if you’re like me, you sometimes find yourself thinking, “I’m already really busy, and how much of a difference can I really make?” I think this is especially true when we’re talking about foster care. So when I catch myself thinking that way, it helps to remember this story. You might not be able to change the entire world, but at least you can change a small part of it, for someone.
To those kids that my mother fostered for so many years, I haven’t seen them and I often wondered what their lives turned out to be, But this is what I do know, to them, it made a difference!
