Foster Parenting - One of My Most Fulfilling Roles

There are several things I've done in life that have filled my heart and made "my cup runneth over". Marrying my best friend, giving birth to three wonderful children, meeting friends that have actually remained near and dear to my heart, and a few other accomplishments that have nothing to do with career choice. 

One thing that has also given me great joy was being a foster parent. My husband and I have been blessed to have loved and cared for six newborn babies, all whom have been adopted by wonderful loving couples who have been raising these children with great love. 

I will never forget driving to the hospital to pick up our first foster baby. At that time, I was able to enter the nursery and introduce myself to this precious little miracle. Driving home with this bundle of joy, I talked to her about our family, promised to love and nurture her as long as she was in our care; and we always ended our little conversation by offering up a prayer for the birth mother. 

More often than not, upon realizing these children were foster babies, strangers would begin to ridicule the birth mother for having given up their baby. I always enjoyed the opportunity to challenge their thinking, to change their heart. How difficult a decision it must have been to make. To love someone so much that you are willing to give them the gift of life, then to give them up and allow them a chance to have more of a life than what you would have been able to provide. To give a couple who has yearned for years for a child of their own, the chance to experience the true blessing of parenthood and family.

Looking at the pictures of our foster babies that grace our shelves, I always cherish the blessings that our family received from caring for each one of them. Thinking of them always fills my heart with love and makes "my cup runneth over".