Foster Fridays: Interview With Hannah

In honor of Adoption Awareness Month we want to feature some parents that have a heart for children in need of forever homes. We interviewed an anonymous mama ("Hannah") in our community about how her lifelong interest in adoption lead her to fostering.

FLM: Can you tell us about how your interest in adoption first came about? H: I think I’ve been interested in adoption my whole life! I remember being about 4 years old and having my dolls adopt one another. The idea of sharing your excess with someone who was lacking always had a strong impact on me. All I knew about actual adoption as a kid though was that it was very expensive, and that’s why my parents couldn’t do it. Even as a child I was always very money conscious, so I never thought I’d be able to adopt either. When I was in college, I realized that I’d had this desire to adopt throughout my whole life. This made me think that maybe it was more than an interest, but a calling. I read blogs about people who really didn’t have a lot of money, but trusted God, and adoption funds were provided for. That’s when I realized it was meant to be a part of my story. Fast-forward a bit and my husband and I were planning on adopting internationally. I remember being on our One Year Anniversary trip and reading the book “You Can Adopt Without Debt” on vacation.

FLM: So when did thoughts of foster care enter the picture? H: I met a couple kids who either were in the system, or who had been adopted out of it. This gave me the desire to work in the field of children’s social work, but I didn’t see myself fostering personally. Then one day I had a conversation with a woman my age who’d grown up in foster care. Two things stood out to me from her story. First, some of the foster homes she’d been in were unsafe. I suddenly felt this responsibility- that if I had the ability to provide a safe home for a child in crisis that I should. Second, she spoke of the last home she was in as a teen. She said she was awful to the parents, yet they wanted to adopt her. I was very challenged by the idea of this unconditional love. It was incredibly Christ-like to me. My husband felt the same way when I shared the story. The calling upon our lives was undeniable. We don’t know if fostering will lead to adoption, but it couldn’t be clearer that this-fostering- is our path. We certainly hope to adopt someday though!

FLM: What’s one thing you’ve learned from you experience that you weren’t expecting? H: It only occured to me recently- God is using my husband and I as part of His redemption story. With foster care, there’s the hope that a family’s story will be redeemed, and you’re helping with that! And whenever there’s a need for adoption, there’s been a tragedy. Some occurrence that -I’ll say anyway- never should have happened. But when a child is adopted it’s something beautiful coming out of something awful- again a form of redemption. I hadn’t thought of this until recently, and it’s been a great perspective to have.

FLM: In conclusion, what would you say to families interested in foster care or adoption?

H: It’s hard, but kids are worth it! My husband recently expressed how thankful he was that God led us in this direction, because he can’t imagine not knowing the child we have now! You’ll never regret investing in a kid’s life.