I had my life planned out. We got married just before finals and I had our first daughter when I was 24, our third daughter when I was 29. Paul and I had always planned that we would do all the fun things our friends had done straight out of college, when our girls were grown and had flown the coop. I had visions of traveling across India on a train, of visiting New Zealand to see where the Lord of the Rings had been filmed, of relaxing on a cruise sipping fancy drinks with umbrellas in them, and of going to the theater wearing something fancy and preferably sequined. Apparently God had different plans for our lives ...
Our lives have followed paths that we could never have imagined. Fifteen years ago we moved from our comfortable lives in England to live in Atlanta, when Paul was asked to open a new office. We thought we might stay for a year or two but have recently begun our citizenship applications. We saw our girls grow and blossom, and anticipated them graduating and leaving home. I saw the glint of the sequinned gown, the glitter of the ocean, just coming into focus, and then God shook everything up.
I had been volunteering in a school for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties, doing fun weekly art projects when I met a little girl named Madison. She was six years old and had already been in five foster placements. She was quiet and nervous and seemed amazed that I was spending time with her and that she would get to take the small, glittered box home with her. I thought that Paul and I could love a little girl like that. We could provide her with a loving home and care for her while her family tried to get their lives in order. We talked about it and, in the final months of our third daughter's junior year at high school, we started our foster parent training.
I quickly realized that my life had been very sheltered and extremely blessed. I started to glimpse worlds where children were scared and unable to trust those who were supposed to care for them; where mothers struggled with addiction and hopelessness; where families existed with ever changing members and with little stability. God walked with us as we learned how to minister to the children and families who were in unthinkable situations and prepared us for a life that we had never imagined.
God's plan for our lives seems to have put the umbrella drinks on hold for the moment and has replaced them with sippy cups and apple juice. He knew all along, as I lived my life and learned the lessons He put before me, that I would end up here. I could never have guessed or imagined the joys and challenges that our journey as foster, and now adoptive, parents would bring. I will share some of our experiences with you and challenge you to listen as God shows you the plans He has for your life. Maybe yours will include more sequins?
