Give up Control
Yes, giving them up is impossible. But for me, the hardest part of foster care isn’t even goodbye. It’s giving up control.
We know these kids better than anyone else in “the system.” We know what’s best for them (or at least we like to think we do). We love them deeper and harder. They inhabit our homes and our hearts. And yet. We don’t make the choices. We don’t control the steps. We don’t have the right to say yes or to say no.
A worker with a monthly visit makes the steps. A therapist with a one sided view makes the recommendations. A judge with a stack of papers makes the decisions. And we sit back and wait to be told.
Foster parents, we can kick and scream and rage against the machine. Or. We can entrust these children to God. We can keep them where they already are—right in the palm of His Hand. Yes, we wrap our heart-grip around them tight and strong. But we loosen our fists of control in surrender to The Father.
When we relinquish control, it’s not to a broken system, not to a flawed decision maker. We relinquish control to God. The Heavenly Father. The Just Judge. The One who created these little souls and little bodies. The One who is actually in control.
