We are very pleased to share this blog post written by one of our Foster Parents, Marny Traverse. (Blogsite is no longer running).
Please read Marny’s story if you are thinking about fostering and are wondering what the journey looks like.
Love is an action word.
It isn’t a fluttery feeling in your stomach although it can cause that. It isn’t flowers and chocolates although those things can be an expression of love. It isn’t romance although we all see love in the midst of romance.
This past weekend my son got married. A wedding is a celebration of love and yet the life that follows after is the greatest celebration of what love can be. As two people seek to forge their lives together there is love in action. They will choose to lay down their own desires and serve one another, and when it is mutual it becomes a breathtakingly beautiful thing to behold.
It was a great weekend to celebrate them and their choice to commit to love one another!
Love is an action word.
In the world of Foster care we are asked to love the children of the Other Mother. It isn’t a fluttering feeling we are supposed to summon, nor is it found in the gifts we give to them. It isn’t always lovely and inspiring.
It requires a choice to serve the good of these children of the Other Mother through our actions. As we advocate for them and seek to put supports in place that will lead to their success we are expressing our love for them in tangible ways. We listen and we encourage and we lay down our peace and quiet for a home filled with teenagers again.
In our Service Team meeting this week there was talk of a Permanency plan…
Where will these two precious children find permanency? They have been clear they want to stay with us. As the word adoption comes up I find myself shrinking back. I can easily state I am fine with them living with us until they are adults and yet the thought of making them a permanent part of our family causes me to pause.
Love is an action word.
A choice to lay down our own desires to serve another.
The commitment to do that can change you forever.
There are so many children struggling to find a place in this world. Permanency is not just a word. It is a state of being where your soul finds its home. Offering that security to another is an act of love unlike any other.
Most of the time Foster Care is the opportunity to provide stability and love for a season. Then the child moves on. When they can’t return to their family there is an opportunity to be love in action.
The invitation is out there. Will we be love in action and commit to be family forever?
In the midst of the mess,
Marny