Broken Goodbyes

-


We've had so many rushed goodbyes in foster care. Scrambling to write letters and print pictures and get a new Jesus Storybook Bible to send with our little ones as one last way to tell them how deeply loved they were from day one, that we will pray for them as they grow, and that our deepest prayer is that they come to know our good King Jesus. 

Today the tables are turned. Yesterday we scrambled to find a Bible and write a letter and print a picture- but it was for Wonder Girl's bio father's "goodbye visit." In this day of heartbreak it is all we can do- one way to tell him how deeply loved his daughter has been from day one, that we will pray for him as we watch her grow, and that our deepest prayer is that he find freedom and wholeness in our good King. 

There is beauty and brokenness in foster care and adoption. After surrendering his right to fight the motion for permanent custody, her bio dad told us through tears at court yesterday, "She is my first child. It wasn't supposed to be this way." No, no it wasn't. While there is beautiful redemption in adoption, it first comes with loss. Deep, terrible, searing loss. For both parent and child. 

We will pray for you. You have dignity and value and worth. Your life is so broken, but our Jesus is in the business of making broken ones whole. He did it for us. We pray He does the same for you.

Popular posts from this blog

What I wish people knew about our homeschool

-
Image
Many times when people comment to me that they could never do homeschooling, the comment is being made on the heels of an unexpected break from school (extreme cold snap, multiple snow days... a pandemic) when the students are sent home with packets of work to complete at home. I don't know how to fully explain how much  not  like homeschooling that is. I think there is a general misunderstanding of our homeschool life that I would love to clarify. And when I say "homeschool," I'm going to limit my comments to our  experience of homeschooling here at Stephens Academy. Every single family is different, kids are different, there are about a million different curriculum options and methods and variables. But here are some things I wish people knew about us. Homeschooling is not doing "school at home." We don't do worksheets. Ever. Math is the closest you will get to finding my kids working out of a textbook. If you had a live feed into our home, on ...
Read more

On education and setting the table.

-
Image
We are about ready for #StephensAcademy 2020-2021. Even though we’ve done this for over a decade now, every year is a bit different with different ages and challenges and opportunities. This year, we will gather around our “morning time” table with a high schooler, middle schooler, elementary schooler, and preschooler. How do we do that?, people ask. At the center of this room stands a table that NP and I bought used to furnish our first apartment. A lot of meals have been eaten around that table. It’s been a gathering place for years and years. It seems fitting to have our old kitchen table in the schoolroom now, because education is a lot less like an assembly line and a lot more like spreading a feast. No one asks me how we possibly provide food for a family of six. The bigger the family, the more prep might be involved, it might take more time, some might need things cut up smaller or dietary needs taken into consideration. Not everyone likes the same foods to the same extent. But ...
Read more