“If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith?” –Matthew 6:30 (HCSB)

My husband and I have only been foster parents for a short time but the process to become foster parents has been a long road for us. It is something my husband and I felt very compelled to do. At the time, we were not looking to foster but then something very small happened … a child was put on our prayer list at church.

My husband and I began talking with each other about this child who was in need of a home and thus began our long journey to becoming foster parents. It was not a decision we took lightly because this was a living, breathing human being who was dealt a less than desirable circumstance.

We knew that we had a life to offer this child and we felt it was something we were called to do by our faith. It was not a decision we made half-heartedly. We knew there was extensive trauma and neglect this child experienced and that it was not going to be easy stepping in and accepting responsibility for this child. But, for us, the positives still outweighed the negatives.

Fostering has made our hearts overflow. Our foster child is making A’s and B’s in school. He is experiencing a whole new world. He is seeing that things can be better and that what happened to him is not his fault. That doesn’t mean he is to forget where he came from but be he is learning to take pride in himself and what he does.

He is learning how to swim, dress neatly, tie his own shoes, be a part of a family. He is learning what it is like to have a mom who makes him breakfast, lunch and dinner, what it’s like to have a dad who takes the time to teach him things – all the things that the rest of us take for granted.

With time, our foster son is learning to trust us a little more every day and he sees we aren’t throwing in the towel. He tests us regularly to see if we are going to give up on him – we aren’t.

And I have to say when he tells us he loves us and when he started calling us mommy and daddy, it only solidified our answer that he was always meant to be our son.

The author of this devotional requested to remain anonymous for the privacy of her family. They are currently in the process of adopting their foster son.