Father’s Day: A feeling of gratitude for the father’s in my life
When I think of Father’s Day, I think of my own father, of course, and my husband.
I am very grateful for my own father. He has always been a consistent source of support and encouragement in my life and continues to be. Our relationship wasn’t always idyllic and perfect, as no one’s is, but he has taught me so many things that I carry with me today. And for that, I am grateful.
When I think about my husband Isaac, I think of the wonderful partner he is in raising our two children. First with Jane, our first born, who we had at age 26 after about 6 years of being married and living a life just the two of us. Isaac has been so loving and hands-on as a Dad from the very beginning and I’ve always admired that about him. A few years later, we decided to open our hearts and our home and registered as foster parents and received our first foster care placement into our family. A six-week-old baby boy. We both fell in love with this little one right away, but being a foster parent takes extra heart. You have to give yourself fully to loving and caring for a child all the while knowing the goal is to see them returned to their biological family, if deemed safe to do so. As time went on, we realized reunification was not possible for our little guy. We officially adopted him on March 2nd of this year, making Isaac a father once more, in a more untraditional sense this time through adoption.
Foster care, adopting, and the kids caught up in these situations needing families to care for them, weigh heavy on both my heart and Isaac’s. If you are interested in learning more about foster care and adoption I recommend reading the book, Orphan Justice: How to care for orphans beyond adoption by Johnny Carr. This book speaks about all the different issues that cause and affect orphans in our world. And from a faith perspective speaks about how it is our role to care for these children in any way we can. I also highly recommend listening to the podcast, Around The World with the Archibald Project, @thearchibaldproject. Go back and listen to all their episodes. They interview guests with various experiences and perspectives on topics ranging from domestic foster care to international adoption. They talk to adoptees, bio-mothers, caseworkers, advocates, foster parents, adoptive parents, and so many others.
This Father’s Day, for all of you who have a loving father figure in your life, who have lost a father, have a father who tried their hardest, may we all be grateful and keep these special memories close to our hearts. I also ask that you take the time to learn a little bit more about foster care and think about whether you might have room in your family to provide love to a child/children who need a family to be a part of.