Loving through the roller coaster process

We know that as foster parents there's a chance we are only in this child's life for a season. Still we live each day as if he's ours forever by giving him 100% of our unconditional love, through raising him to know God beyond his former circumstances, to be known as one of God's adopted children, and possibly adopted into a family whose mission in life is to help him know, love, and serve the Lord with all of his heart.

Giving of ourselves worth every second
We give though we know we may never receive – doesn't that reflect God's amazing grace?

I took off four weeks of work when he first moved in with us to help him know we are truly HERE for him, that we care about every detail that makes him who he is, and will love him as he works through past hurts.
> I fully believe this is part of why we've had such a great beginning and foundation for love and trust with one another. Prayers covering all of us is the greater cause behind the beauty of it all.

I volunteered at our church's VBS and moved my older son down to our foster son's grade level for the week so that we could worship, learn, and play together.
> Two months later, my heart smiles when I hear both of our boys belting out the words to the music learned that week – as they sing truths of the Lord's greatness. 

Steve and I sat outside his Sunday School classroom on the floor with him for five weeks until he felt comfortable with all the new faces that lie beyond the glass door.
> Now we see him actively participating and excited about bringing his new Bible to church and also sitting with us in worship as a family. He also occasionally joins us in family prayer and let me tell you the prayers of a child are a beautiful reminder of the faith God asks of us – and the prayer of a child who is thankful for the security, love, trust, and safety he has in the moment is even more precious.

We have taken responsibility to help therapists, case workers, and specialists involved to know him deeper. Deeper than what's on paper or more hidden than what his professional diagnosis may be. We have been vigilant in helping them see our foster son on a day-to-day level, and have been the information gate for helping them understand the entrenched issues and pain that have arised in a conversation or activity we face.
> After five weeks of therapy, the first six weeks was a difficult transition as we weren't supplied a steady therapist group, he is finally willing to talk on a deep-rooted level that deals with past hurts and new revelations.

We have asked for special exceptions so that my mom could be approved to watch our foster son in her home, in addition to our home. While we waited for my mom's house to be approved, she sacrificed time away from her husband while she lived with us for five weeks of the summer so she could be there early in the morning as Steve and I left for work.
> We have seen these weeks of remaining summer to be valuable times of bonding, building trust, and one-on-one time he can't get in a daycare.

Still, as we hope for him to be forever a part of our family, we get a few reminders along the way that this may not be the reality, and it saddens me.

Our most recent reminder was just this morning when I heard from his case worker that we shouldn't plan our surprise trip to Disney World in the Fall. Because as we love and wait, we just don't know how long this season is. Forget the logistics of asking off from work, and reserving space at a hotel, and purchasing tickets, the sadness that overwhelmed me is because we want to give to him everything we can while he's part of our family and we are told to hold off.

Prayer moves mountains – please pray with us