I’ve never been one to say that “God has placed something on my heart.”

I’m not sure why, especially since my heart is the place where all my decisions are made. But, there has always been one thing, that has tugged at me since before Steve and I were even married. God has placed on my heart that I was going to be someone who became a foster parent. I feel so strongly that no one can raise children on their own—there is always the need for a proverbial village and I also have known not everyone is given a ready made village to help them. I wanted to open my heart and my home for someone that found themselves feeling a bit lost and alone. And luckily, I married someone who believed the same thing!

We actually first began foster parenting classes about 12 years ago, while we were still in Illinois. However, we discovered we had been given the gift of Elijah and decided to take a break until he was a bit older. Finally, this past January, we started the process again and finished the 20+ hours of training needed to become foster parents. Again, we were stalled however, when I landed in the hospital twice in eight months. We put it off thinking that things had to be just right, that we had to get our lives perfect, that the moment had not yet arrived.

God had other plans. The third week of September we became further connected with someone who needed a village, and needed it quickly. Speeding up the certification process, we officially became a licensed foster home for baby Iziah on September 21. He is seven weeks old and will be with us for as long as his biological mama needs him to be. To be completely cheesy—God may have placed fostering on our hearts, but Iziah has stolen them. We will forever be connected to this baby and to his mom, knowing that the Spirit sustains this unique village of ours, and grateful that we have our own village in each one of you. We thank you for your love and prayers for us, for Iziah and his mom, and for all families still searching for their own village.

With love,
Sarah