The Hardest Part

A lot of times when I tell people what I do they will comment on how hard that must be. My response is usually the same. For me, it is hard to see kids with tough diagnoses who come from great families who will do anything for them, but they still struggle. But without a doubt the hardest part for me is working with Foster Kids. My heart breaks for kids that are in foster care.

Last weekend I went to the bookstore to find my read of the week and finally decided to read a book I have been contemplating reading for a long time. It is Dave Pelzer's The Lost Boy which is the sequel to a well-known book A Child Called "It". I was intrigued by The Lost Boy because of its subtitle: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family. This book details Dave's experience (as he recalls them) in the foster care system from the time he was 12 until he turned 18 and exited the system. It is a very interesting story about the things he did for acceptance and love and it broke my heart even more for these kids I work with every day.

Over the last year a half God has definitely broken my heart for my babies that I work with who are in foster care. For the little boy that I worked with for almost a year who could not handle even the slightest change in his schedule because he had been through so much he had no sense of normalcy or routine. For my little girl that cries every day at daycare because she has no idea what's going to happen that day.

I have been very blessed in that I have worked with some wonderful foster parents. Foster parents who would do anything for these hurting babies. Who try so hard to provide consistency and predictability to these fragile little lives. And for whatever reason, I seem to have more Foster Kids on my caseload than my co-workers, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. To see the progress they make and get to be a part of helping to provide some structure and stability for these helpless kiddos is amazing to me. And every day I see how resilient kids really are and how strong they are--such an inspiration