My Foster Children Are Better Off With Me

“Baby girl is headed home soon.” “How are you feeling about that?” “Good! The paternity test came back, and I really like dad.” “Oh, good. So he’s a great guy?” “Um, yeah...I mean…...yeah...”

And then all the things that made him not the greatest of guys flood into my mind. The list of decisions, the catalog of faults, the reasons this little girl would be better off with me.

You see, at least in every case I’ve experienced, I have a stronger “parental resume” than my foster children’s parents. My husband and I have a great marriage. Neither of us have ever struggled with addiction or mental illness. We’ve never gotten more than a speeding ticket. Our children are loving and helpful siblings, and we have a big, supportive extended family. We’re financially stable and live in a beautiful home. Our family spends a lot of time together, having fun and making memories.

So, naturally, my foster children are better off with me, right?

Right?

Before I answer this question with my lists of pros and cons and tallies and logical conclusions, I have to remind myself of truth: God intended for families to be together. God intended for parents to care for their children and for children to be cared for by their parents. God created the family unit, and it is sacred to him.

Sin is the destroyer of what is beautiful, the breaker of things that are whole. And it wreaks havoc on families. But Jesus came to restore that which sin destroyed, to repair what sin has broken. He came to make it all new.

As Christians, we understand God’s perfect plan of what the family is meant to be.

As foster parents, we know that, all too often, parents demolish that plan.

But as Christian foster parents, may we believe that God created families to be together, that His heart is for them to stay together. And may we do all that we can to be a part of Him bringing them back together.