As I Open My Door to the Child, I Open My Heart to the Mother

We got our first call in two years. We said yes. She’s (supposed to be) coming tomorrow.

The kids screamed in excitement. Sheer excitement. I understand their excitement.

I am passionate about creating a loving and healing home for vulnerable children. If there wasn’t some level of “excitement” for this impossibly hard job, I don’t think I’d be able to do it.

But there isn’t only excitement. There’s a gravity, a heaviness, a sobering weight to the task at hand.

A (functionally) motherless child. A (functionally) childless mother. It’s the loneliest loss I could possibly imagine.

So as I open my door to the child, I open my heart to the mother.

My fight for restorative & redemptive foster care begins before the child even enters my home.

My preparation for this baby girl’s arrival isn’t (just) in cleaning & collecting clothes. My preparation is in my prayer: “God, please provide a family member who can care for this kiddo. Please allow for attachment & affection to grow fast and strong between mother & child. Please help this removal to be the moment mom needs to begin the path to change. Please bring healing—mind, body, soul, & relationship.”

And the prayer I need every day: “Please help my heart to stay aligned to your heart.”