My husband, Bryan, and I have talked about fostering or adopting children in need since we first started dating. We built our lives together knowing that one day there would be children in our home. God was faithful to guide our hearts and teach us things about the foster and adoptive world before we were able to join it ourselves. Because of that, when invited to an informational meeting on fostering almost two years ago, the decision to open our home was easy. We still didn’t know the full extent of that choice, like the background checks and extensive home study process, ensuring our home would be a safe place for children. It took ten months to get through all the paperwork, training, and home studies to become an open foster home in our state. 

Our home has now been open for placements for a full year. We have learned so much along the way. So far, five children have been placed with us at different times, and four of those children are still with us now. Fostering has brought many changes to our life, some easier than others! We changed things in our home that we loved, we upgraded vehicles to fit four car seats, and we have relied greatly on family and friends in order to serve the children in the best ways that we can. We love being able to serve and bring others into our family. We have so much joy in seeing each of our children grow and learn new things about themselves and Jesus along the way. 

But some moments are more joyful than others. If we are being honest, some of the days and the nights are difficult. While our fostering journey hasn’t always been easy or traditional, we still feel strongly that God has called us to this. Even when others don’t fully understand why we foster, we just remember that Jesus cared deeply for the little children. We will keep saying yes to children who need a little extra love, because God has called us, and God is faithful.

Our spiritual lives have grown through fostering. We know we can’t afford the luxury of having a casual faith in God—we lean on our faith to get through each day. We have learned that following in the footsteps of Jesus is harder than we could imagine, but God also provides for daily needs in ways we would never imagine. We aren’t sure what the future holds. We don’t know how long each child will remain in our home. Even with this uncertainty, God gives joy along the way. We’re blessed knowing that we’re doing a small part in serving the least of these in our community.

“We know we can’t afford the luxury of having a casual faith in God—we lean on our faith to get through each day.”

There are children in every neighborhood and school that have no safe people in their lives or nowhere safe to call home. While fostering full-time is not for everyone, we can all care for children. There are also simple ways to empower and encourage foster families and foster kids. In our family, we’ve been surrounded by help and support along the way. We’ve been given access to free fostering clothing closets, church families have brought us meals and gift cards, and friends have volunteered to babysit for an evening. We also know there are many people praying for us as we walk through this journey, and we couldn’t do this without every ounce of support. Every foster family needs that support. Whatever your interest level, there are opportunities in your local area to serve children in need, and we can all work to share God’s love, right where we are.

Jen Willard has been in full-time youth ministry for over 5 years and is currently the Youth Pastor at Brockington Road Church of the Nazarene near Little Rock, AR. Jen and her husband Bryan have been married for five years and are foster parents to two boys and two girls. In her free time, Jen loves drinking coffee, writing, and traveling.