Ecclesiastes 3:1 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."Today is a somewhat emotional and eventful day. It has been five long weeks since I was gainfully employed; I start a new job on Monday! The good news is that during this time, I have graduated my high-schooler and my preschooler, I had date nights with Mary Anne, I celebrated Father's Day, my child support ended, I learned the country code for France so I could speak to my oldest daughter in Paris, wrote blogs, played guitar, consolidated boxes of "stuff" from my 50-year history here on earth, and took our little JA to daycare and back almost everyday. JA's been with us three months, and she is going to live with another family tomorrow at 10 am.
This morning she came in my office to say "I love you Daddy J."
Last night we took the little ones to the carnival. (If you are on Facebook, you can see the photos there.) They road the dragon coaster, fished for sharks, won teddy bears, ate a hamburger, sped down the giant slide, drove the cars and tooted their horns, and rounded the corner on the Merry-Go-Round-- one waving feverishly and the other holding on for dear life -- they had fun.
I can't imagine what it's like for a foster child to be torn from what they know; regardless of the neglect and abuse some of them suffer, and dumped off with folks like us. Who knows what will happen next for this little one. Will she get to pray each day at the dinner table or go to church-- we can only hope so. Will we ever see her again? We have no idea.
Between this paragraph and the last, she's been in the office to sit in my lap, give me kisses, tell me about her new flip-flops and ask me if I am sad.
I was feeling grateful when I started writing, but now, I am feeling sad. Even though Summer has started, it is feeling a bit like Winter today.
2 comments:
You can feel the emotions in this post my friend. It's a tough job being foster parents, but I'm thankful people like you and Mary Anne provide a good home for someone like JA to transition to adopting parents.
Look at the blessing she's been on your life and you've been on her's...that's got God all over it.
David:
You and your wife are wonderful people to share your home with a foster child and give them hope and love. It does seem sad to take a young child away from a home filled with love and place them in unknown settings.
Yes as Tony said "thats got God all over it."
I pray you will do well in your new venture.
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