"Dear Foster Parents,
Welcome to the beginning of the most amazing, heartbreaking, rewarding, emotional roller coaster we call Foster Care. Remember that there are going to be good days and so many bad days, but EVERY day will impact you and your placements in ways you couldn’t imagine... so always make the best of it!
I’m new to this journey as well, actually so new that we haven’t even received our first placement yet! But I wanted to pass along some advice and tips that I’ve acquired over the few months of our journey, that I feel will hit all new foster parents in the right places...
During Your Journey:
Be prepared to heal a heart, just to have yours broken. Be prepared to open with welcome arms, just to have them left empty. Be prepared to walk through the peaks and valleys, just to end up walking alone.
But also be prepared to see a broken child smile for the first time in weeks, to watch the joy and liveliness be sparked back into their life. Be prepared to love so hard that it physically hurts, in a way you never knew possible. Be prepared to help a broken family become whole and functional, even when it seems impossible. Be prepared to shape and mold an entirely new future for these children and their biological families.
But lastly, be prepared to get too attached! And remember that that’s okay because we didn’t get called to foster for US we got called to foster for THEM. This life is not about our happiness, our comfort, our journey... it’s about these amazing children who just need your love. Our seasons of heartbreak show that we gave all we had and offered the best love possible to each child that walked in our door, and I can’t think of anything better than that!
My best advice to you is, slow down. Enjoy each and every season while you’re still in it. Don’t wait or take anything for granted! Love this life you’ve been chosen for, during the highs and especially during the lows."
Start your fostering journey here: http://bit.ly/2zY1Kmy