The Desires of Our Hearts

Delight yourself in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4



One of the things that Jim and I first realized we had in common back when we first began talking was the desires that God had placed on each of our hearts. Amongst the similar passions, both of us had a strong desire to help the fatherless. At first we thought that this would mean one day adopting a child from a poor, under developed country, or maybe a little Chinese girl, abandoned because she was not a boy. And though adoption is still an option to us, God has recently placed a new desire within our hearts and opened our minds to a new possibility. We are excited to share that God has led us into the process of becoming a licensed foster family.

Being that this is a decision that will affect the whole family, we have arrived at this point with the permission and input from our children. We've talked to them, answered questions, read verses from the Bible that talk about God's heart for the fatherless and prayed with them. They have each showed great excitement for taking in and caring for little ones in our home. In fact, the first day I got a call from the social worker and was given a time line, the kids and I spent the rest of the afternoon sorting baby clothes, cleaning baby supplies and setting up our beautiful cradle, made for us by Jim's dad when our Kylee was born. Kylee has even gone through her own belongings and chosen some stuffed animals and blankets for "the baby". She asks every day when we're going to "get our kids" and then gives her opinion of what she would prefer - today she wanted 2 sets of twins, one set of boys and another of girls. I told her I thought that would be a bit much for me to handle! She has a hard time wrapping her little mind around caring for a child for awhile... she would like to make them all permanently a part of our family. My prayer for her is that God would somehow protect her tender little heart when we must say good-bye to a child we have loved.

Ky dusting the cradle


Kaden saying, "This where the baby sleeps!"


The boys, although younger, still understand pretty well what we're doing. When Cole was sick last night we put him on a mattress on the floor in our room. He looked at the cradle next to him and said, "Oh yeah! I get to sleep by the baby!" I reminded him that there was no baby yet in the cradle and he responded, "Yea, but some day we have a baby there who doesn't have a mommy or daddy and we need to care for it." I try to explain that many times the children do have a mommy and daddy, but that they might be "sick" and need help before they can take care of their children. It is a hard concept for them to grasp.

So, we are currently filling out an abundance of detailed forms, going to doctor's appointments to be cleared, getting finger printed and having background checks completed, finding ways to make the home "safe" by the county's standards (there are things I never would have thought of!), going to classes and harassing friends and family about being references for us. We've just begun and sometimes it seems overwhelming and a bit scary. We have days when we ask ourselves if we know what we're doing. Others when we're asked by loved ones if we're crazy. I just don't want fear to hold us back from something that God has obviously placed upon our hearts.

On a day when I was particularly thinking a lot about the change and potential risks this would bring about within our family, God spoke directly to my heart in this quote by John Piper that was a part of my Biblestudy lesson:

"Being a Christian should mean that our trajectory is toward need, regardless of danger and discomfort and stress. Christians characteristically will make life choices that involve putting themselves and their families at temporal risk while enjoying eternal security."

He calmed my heart and my fears and reminded me that He had led us to this point. Following Him might not always be the fun, easy or comfortable way, but we have great hope in our eternal security with Christ!

So we ask for prayer as we travel this road together. We pray that we continue to follow God's leading and not give in to our own fears and worries, for teamwork amongst our family members, for great love and patience for every child placed within our home, and for strength of hearts when we may need to say good-bye to a child we have loved and who may be returning to situations that are not ideal.