A Quick Note

A Quick Note... 1

We became a foster family in 2012. Our rst placement arrived at our home just a few weeks a er our having nalized all our training hours, inspections, and paperwork. It was a Wednesday, around 7:30 p.m. Our lives forever changed that night. We knew then that nothing would ever be the same again, but even more than that, we knew then that nothing could ever be the same.

We know things now that we can never unknow, have seen things that we can never unsee, heard things that we can never unhear, and felt things that we can never unfeel. Nothing will ever again be the same. Nothing can.

Our journey, in part, has been documented through a collection of blogs over these years—accounts and recollections that have been sorted through, condensed, reformatted, and turned into the chapters of this book. ey are re ections on some really wonderful and beautiful things, and some really hard and ugly things—because foster care is nothing if not an intricate collection of some really extraordinary along with some extremely di cult experiences. rough it all we have changed as individuals, as husband and wife and as mom and dad. Our daughters have changed. Our family has changed. Our faith has changed, and our understanding of God’s capacity to turn some really broken things into some really beautiful things has deepened in ways we could never have anticipated.

2 REFRAMING FOSTER CARE

at’s what this book is about—the gospel—God’s capacity to bring great beauty out of tragic brokenness. at’s who this book is for—those needing to see the beauty of what they are doing, not in spite of the brokenness that surrounds it but through it. is isn’t a rose-colored-lens look at foster care or a glossing over of the very real and hard fallout that comes with stepping into systemically broken places. It’s an honest recognition of the hard with a push in the direction of “reframing” how we see and feel and understand some of the situation’s bigger and more beautiful rami cations and aspects.

We hope ReFramingFoster Care can be an encouragement to you, whether you read it alone or journey through it with a small group. We pray that the gospel, God’s capacity to bring great beauty out of tragic brokenness, will be made rich and vibrant and evident to you through these pages and will ultimately sustain you in the good work you’re doing on behalf of the kids and families you’re loving. ank you for doing what you’re doing. We’re honored to be on this journey with you.

Jason, Emily, and the Girls

INTRODUCTION