Lindsay and I chat about her journey of becoming a foster parent, the need for more Christians to step into the role of foster parenting, and what she would like the biological parents of her foster children to know.

3:52 Lindsay shares how her relationship with Jesus began

6:05 Lindsay shares how she and her husband became foster parents

“In our church, there was a lot of national talk bubbling up about social justice….”

Micah 6:8

West Florida Foster Care

“This organization was going to churches and to Christians and was saying, ‘We are in a capacity crisis here and we don’t have people stepping up.’ Hillsborough County is the worst in the state of Florida, in terms of the number of children that are removed from their homes.”

8:29 Lindsay shares some of the fears she experienced prior to becoming a licensed foster parent

Biggest fear: How having a foster child would affect her biological children.

“We’ve been very open with our kids about why we have chosen to foster, about who Jesus is, and what He calls us to do, and about the lives our children lead and how different they are from the lives of our foster children. How the inequality of justice should spur us on, so our kids our incredible.”

11:10 Lindsay shares about her families experience with their first foster placement

“…I went to the hospital.  When I say the trajectory of my life changed that day, I am not exaggerating. To walk into a room, as a believer, and see a 2 year old baby in a crib with no one, bandages all over her…..caged [in a hospital crib] and bandaged and alone and crying and not one person in the world cared…That was a defining moment for me. I had been living my life….ignorant.”

13:49 Lindsay shares what surprised her about foster parenting

-The amount of work that goes into coordinating the best interest of the child

-Your home is always open. People are always stopping by.

15:29 Lindsay shares what encourages her and her family to keep pressing on as a family that fosters

“Every time that a child leaves our house we go, okay we’re going to take a break.  This has been stressful and hard and then, we get a phone call…There are these children that are out there that have by no fault of their own ended up on the floor of an office building and if we are who we say we are as believers, that should matter to us.  I am not saying that from a judgmental place, but more from a place of personal conviction.”

21:20 Lindsay talks about some of the misconceptions about foster care

“One of the things we hear over and over again is, ‘I could never do that.’ I guess what I want to say is, you absolutely could. It doesn’t mean you should and it doesn’t mean your in a place where it would be wise to be a foster parent, but you absolutely could do it. I am not a special super hero. God didn’t give me an extra big heart or more patience or better parenting skills. It really was just taking me this embarrassingly flawed and totally normal person and stepping out as act of obedience to a calling to do something that I felt was near and dear to the Lord’s heart.”

“What would it look like if those people who felt that nudge, but felt scared, just took the first step. How would that revolutionize foster care in general.”

“Foster care isn’t about how we feel or what we can get out of it or what is going to be taken from us. It’s really being obedient to a call to provide a place for this child who has never done anything to deserve what they’ve had happen to them. [They] come into your house, feel safe, feel loved, and hopefully, in the best of circumstances, be reconciled to their family in a way that is safe and happy for everyone involved.”

24:53 “If you are doing foster care right, you’re attaching and you’re providing them with a relationship that feels bonded, so any separation of that is going to be incredibly painful, but part of what we’ve done to help with that and one of the things that was probably the most important part of our training was learning how to develop relationships with parents or the biological family. “

“We are all level at the cross.”

25:57 Lindsay shares how she communicates with the biological parents/family

27:42 Lindsay shares what she would like people to know about foster parenting

“We need you, especially the church. We need believers. We need people that will take these kids in and love them and love their parents and just show some grace and forgiveness in a situation that is so broken.”

“This capacity crisis is not insurmountable. The latest number is if 1 family in every 5 churches took in a foster child that there would no longer be a need for foster parents.”

“In some ways, I think we’ve [believers] become more pro-birth than we’ve become pro-life.”

30:38 Lindsay shares some helpful ways she has been trained to work with a foster child who has experienced trauma

Ex. Time-in vs. Time-out

33:13 Lindsay talks about having a community of support

“People want to serve…”

36:15 Lindsay answers the question, “If you could stand in front of the parents of your foster children, what would you like to say to them?”

“I would encourage them, it is always worth fighting for and it’s always worth giving your best and it’s not always going to work out and it’s not always going to feel good, but their worth it, their worth the investment. They can turn their lives around and be involved in their kids lives in some capacity even if it is not as their primary caregiver.”

@micah6.8mom

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