By Sandra Bost
May is “Foster Care Awareness” month. It is very near to my heart. My husband and I were “Mom” and “Pop” to 10 boys in a children’s home over the course of three years with ages ranging from 11-18. After resigning in 2005 and taking a few years to rest, our daughter began begging us to foster in our home. So, following a three-month foster-parent course, CPR and First Aid training, a home study, and enough paperwork to clear a small forest, we became licensed foster parents in Etowah County.
I still remember the butterflies when the social worker called to tell us about a sibling group in need of placement. She went on to explain that there were three sisters, ages four, five and nine. We had only prepared ourselves to take two children, and had requested older children since most of our experience was with teenagers. However, as she was talking, we just knew that these girls were meant for us.
That first, “Yes,” was easy. We were far enough removed from the children’s home experience to forget the waves of emotion and sleepless nights. And even though we were fresh from foster-care classes, we wore our rose-colored glasses as we rehearsed the “all they need is love” mantra. I don’t know if it is naivety or a healthy dose of grace, but it is akin to the phenomenon that allows birth mothers to forget the pain of labor and eagerly enter into the process again.
Our journey with “The Littles” as we affectionately referred to them, began the day after the call in May 2012. The four of us were so excited that we ran out on the porch when we heard the social worker pull into the driveway. In reflection, it was probably a little overwhelming to those sweet girls to be greeted so eagerly, but we couldn’t contain ourselves.
When I look back at pictures from that first day, my heart still aches at the sadness in their faces and distant look in their beautiful brown eyes. We noticed it then, but my heart can really see it now. We invited them in, and offering to take their grocery store bags holding all of their Earthly possessions, we showed them their room and all the Love we could manifest in those early moments. Our children are remarkable, so it didn’t take them long to make a crack in the enormous wall that the girls had built around their hearts for protection. Before the first night was over, we were gifted with smiles and a few soft giggles.
We weren’t to know it then, but we would only have them in our arms for three short months before the system would send them back to their family to work through reunification protocols. However, as it turns out, you can fall in love forever with little ones somewhere between one and 90 days.
During those brief 90 days we were able to create so many memories with “our” precious girls. One very vivid memory was the night we encountered the Panty Angel. We had taken The Littles to the drive-in movies. In true “life with kids” fashion, as soon as the movie started, the girls asked to use the bathroom. I took Little and Middle to the potty only to discover that we had made it just a little bit late (in the worst way). Turns out, you can forget how to prepare for life with littles somewhere between one and 13 years. Standing at the sink rinsing out tiny panties, a sweet lady asked, “Can I help you?”
“Not unless you have some panties!” I quipped.
To which she replied, “I might.” She proceeded to her car to bring back her diaper bag with literal handfuls of panties…in three sizes! She pulled out a size four donned with Dora the Explorer, Middle’s favorite, and an outfit to boot! Psalm 91:11 came to life for us that night. “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.”
If you have never encountered the Panty Angel, then maybe you should give foster care a try. It is so close to the heart of Jesus that He shows up in the most unexpected ways for those that trust Him with their, “Yes.”
For more information on becoming a foster parent, contact https://dhr.alabama.gov/foster-care/ OR https://www.alabamachild.org/ . Over 6000 children need a loving and stable home in Alabama today.
