Pickens Adoptive Mom Makes a Plea for Foster Families

”Have you ever thought for a minute about being a foster family? Can I share my heart with you just a second?

.First, let me say that I am grateful beyond words for the love and care my littles got when their home was a children’s group home. They have great memories from their years there.

.But I have this beautiful red-headed boy, an introvert with an engineer's brain and a big, soft heart and a brown-haired beauty, an extrovert with social graces galore, and for eighteen months they needed and deserved something special.

.What did they need?

.They needed a family wiling to make strong connections and fall head over heels in love so that they could grow emotionally healthy and be ready to make important attachments the rest of their lives. A family willing to grieve their loss after 18 months knowing they had left an incredibly vital impression on their little hearts.

.They needed a family who could help them for over a year as they figured out their favorite foods, cartoons, and toys alongside parents who could give them individual attention and care.

.They needed a family who could provide them the safety of routine, who could teach them that adults can be trustworthy, who could pray for their forever family, and who could embrace them during the scariest moments of their life. A family willing to be inconvenienced with visits and meetings and hearings to make sure these two littles have personal advocates.

.They needed a family brave and obedient enough to yes.

.And there are so many more precious children who need you to be courageous enough to get very attached even though you will have to say goodbye one day because you will be offering them more than you've ever realized.

.I'll be honest, I don't really know the true difficulties of fostering, but I do know that the selfless act of fostering offers vulnerable children one more chance to feel valued, build trust, and grow into the beautiful people God designed them to be.”

.-Pickens Adoptive Mom