Foster Care newbies . . .

There is a blog that I have in my google reader that I am really not sure how I came across it. Do you have those? They really don't fit in with your typical reads, and you are not quite sure how you got referred there, or why you ever added them in the first place? In my experience, I typically remove them from my reader if they are not "my cup of tea", but some remain because they have good insights and write well even if they are not truly a "part of my world".

There is one in blog in particular who has now moved into a territory I know far too much about. This particular family has a really good heart and has felt called to be foster parents. I recall all too well the yearning of wanting help kids in need and to become a part of a system that helps kids find a way back to a home that is now healthy or to a forever new home. I remember the excitement and the anticipation of being able to be a part of the solution. Do all you foster parents remember that? The point where you thought the system helped? Before you realized how terribly broken the system is? When you thought you could keep your young children safe? When you thought your family would be touted as "saviors" instead of being ostracized for being different even by your own family?

While I still encourage them to do what they feel called to do, I just think they would want a dose or reality. I would've LOVED to go into foster care with a heads up that all is not peachy keen. I would've LOVED someone to tell me that social workers lie. They you don't get the whole story. I wish someone had told me that I CANNOT make a child go to church who refuses. I wish someone would've told me that not everyone involved in the system is on MY side. I would've LOVED to go into fostering with my eyes wide open. Perhaps I could've kept my child safe from a perpetrator put into my home without my knowledge. Perhaps I would've known what questions to ask. Perhaps I would've not felt so very cheated by the system I thought was helping the children with my help. I could've be prepared.

Sometimes that dose of reality is a bitter pill to swallow. This family thinks it is a stumbling block placed in the way by Satan. Maybe it is a learning opportunity placed in their way by God. Maybe He wants them to slow down and learn before they do what they are truly called to do.