So Behind on Questions….

I know I’ve fallen hopelessly behind on answering all the questions that you’ve sent me either through e-mail or through the formspring box (in the right column).  I’m soooo sorry if you’ve sent me a question and I haven’t responded!  I will try to catch up, but if you have a question that was never answered, you might want to resend it….sorry!

 

Hi! I'm a Social Work student with plans to foster and have a few questions about your experience. Did you know you were going to foster when you were in school? How has a background in Social Work helped your foster parenting?

 

When I was in school, I knew that fostering and/or adopting was something I was interested in doing someday.  Brian and I had also talked about it in a very abstract, very future kind of way.  But God kept placing it on our hearts, and as we prayed about it, it became clear to us that we didn’t really have a good reason not to do it now.  When we had that conversation, I think Brian was still thinking in a hypothetical sense.  I, on the other hand, took it upon myself to call and sign us up for fostering classes the very next day.  (Good thing he loves me!)  And here we are.

Having a background in social work has helped a ton with fostering.  Because of my schooling I had a good understanding of where these children were coming from, why issues in families seemed to be so cyclical, what to expect in terms of behaviors, etc.  Also, I had a framework of counseling techniques that has come in real handy.

What has helped even more than my social work degree, is the experience that I clocked as a caseworker.  I already knew the in’s and out’s of the system, and I had seen it all from the caseworker’s perspective (which is very helpful in giving them a little grace when things don’t go just so.).  So yes, my background in social work has helped immensely.

 

I can’t imagine how difficult it is to say goodbye to children who leave your home.  Does it ever get any easier?

Well, in short, no.  You do learn what to expect.  You know what the hurt feels like.  You know the emptiness and the worry.  It doesn’t make it easier, you just know what to expect.  With that said, every time a child leaves our home it always hurts much more than I anticipate.  Oh, yes.  It hurts.

BUT.  Before you go thinking, “Oh, there is just no way I could ever do that, it would hurt too bad.”  let me stop you.  You could do it.  It would hurt.  And you would cry.  And you would always worry.  And it would all be worth it.  God gives you the opportunity to get to know these little souls that he created for a purpose.  He plants in you love for them.  He helps you to attach.  Because it is what they need.

And like I’ve said before,  Isn’t every child worth being cried over?  Isn’t every child worth the kind of love that makes it hard to say goodbye?

It is worth it.

 

 

 

 

More questions coming!  If I missed yours please resend it and I’ll do my best to answer it!!!