One year ago today…

It was a Friday. Craig and I had heard that we might be called for foster care placements before we even had our license in hand. We had yet to receive our foster care license but that day I missed a call for 3 little ones they were trying to place. I called back and alternative arrangements had already been made. A short time later, the phone rang from our agency again. I wondered if the plan for those children had fallen apart, it didn’t…they were calling us about baby Z. We didn’t receive a lot of information and frankly I was so excited I didn’t ask a lot of questions. All I knew was that it was a 3 month old little boy. The person calling thought he was born on time and that his birth weight was around 6 lbs. Well it turned out that he was released from the hospital at close to that weight but he had been born 2 months early. I didn’t know his name, his ethnicity or much of his background but I knew this would be the start of our new journey as foster parents.

I can still remember the car of the social worker pulling into the driveway (did I mention that not only was my husband and kids all excitedly waiting because it took A LOT longer for them to arrive at our house than we thought, but our good friends with their 4 children were there AND my parents! J Everyone was so excited!). We went out to the car and there he was, this TINY little boy. We would find out his name and we would learn a little of the medical issues that were plaguing him. Then with a quick signature and a few papers, he was here. Holding Z for the first time was like holding any of my other kids born to us. Immediately we fell in love with him. He was (and still is!) so precious.

He was so little, so sick, so helpless. The mama bear in me rose up to protect him and hasn’t quieted yet. Our lives have forever been changed. He is such a blessing. It has been so awesome to watch God heal him and help him overcome his earlier struggles. I cannot tell you the joy that he has brought others and how it has melted my heart to see the interactions between my children and baby Z, yet alone other family members and friends.

In the midst of celebrating this one year anniversary that Z came into our lives, I can’t help but think back to Broderick, a little boy who captured my heart, who stirred us to open our hearts and home to love those that God would place in our arms. I still have Broderick’s picture as my screen saver. This little boy is now safe and loved in the arms of another mama and daddy but he will always hold a special place in my heart. If it were not for him, we would not have started this path that we are on and it wouldn’t have been one year ago today that our lives forever changed as Z was placed in our arms. When we open ourselves up to where God may be working through our lives, we never know where it will lead us. It is not always easy but I will always choose faithfulness because the beauty that God can bring out of ashes is one that I don’t want to miss!