Kevin said he was ready to explore foster care and I leaped into action. A true leap of faith! I filled out the inquiry form on the DHS website and thought to myself, so happy that’s done.
Haha! I was so naive. That was literally just the beginning. Next, I had a phone interview with someone at DCFS and instantly became overwhelmed. The anxiety must have run rampant in my voice because the sweet woman on the phone recommended the Call. Best recommendation ever!
The CALL serves Arkansas by guiding Christians through the foster care journey.
We went to an info meeting in May. The meeting was soul touching. The message was just what I needed to hear. It is our job as Christians to take care of these children. I went to the meeting selfishly serving myself and my desire to be a mother. I left charged with a mission to serve Christ through foster care. We started the paperwork and prayed God would lead us.
The ladies at the CALL are fiercely honest and full of knowledge. I learned a lot through the PRIDE training. Mostly about my self, my marriage and Gods plan for our family. I was surprised at the emotional journey. I thought I had dealt with infertility and come to the point of acceptance. But at times I was mad that we had to jump through all these hoops. Hearing about the children that have been neglected and abused made me angry, those people were allowed to have babies and we can’t. God knows my heart and quickly reminds me of the special role Kevin,and I can play in these children’s lives. We get to plant seeds of Christ’s love in the hearts of many.
I have to give photo credit to Ann Meythaler, the director of CALL. She posted this on Instagram back in August. These were the numbers for Northwest Arkansas at the time. Shocking isn’t it?!
Becoming a foster parent isn’t easy, and it’s not for everyone. The process is invasive and frustrating at times. It’s a hurry up and wait situation. But it’s necessary! These kids have been through so much. We need to be prepared [as prepared as possible] and the state needs to be sure we will not harm the sweet souls intrusted to our care.
We have never been parents. We are definitely ill-equipped. We’re doing it anyway! There is a huge tribe of people ready to help and tons of resources at our fingertips, thank you World Wide Web! Will we make mistakes? Of course! But we will provide a safe and loving home, our hearts will be full, our schedules busy and our marriage will become stronger because of this journey.
We finished PRIDE training(30 hours of education) in June, CPR/First Aid in July and our Home Study in August. We have prepared our home and minds, as much as anyone can. We are so close to being an open home! We are excited! And absolutely terrified!!!
Here we are…leaping and allowing faith to guide us.