I woke up in the wee hours of morning to a little girl in fuzzy gray footed pajamas clutching at my arm. "I'm scared," she said in a small voice. Bleary with sleep, I sighed and briefly contemplated sending her back to her crib. But before I could send her back, my heart took charge …
Tag: foster care
Winter
Every winter I hit that spot when it feels like winter will never leave. Here in Kansas we don't even have the beauty of glistening snow to brighten our days; except for rare snowfalls, the days are an endless succession of shades of brown. The trees are brown, the grass is brown, the street is …
Writing, and better things
I'm slowly working on writing a post about being raised Amish Mennonite* and what it taught me. It's been an interesting subject to think about, especially after five years of living outside an Amish Mennonite community. Spoiler alert: I'm still very Amish-y. But writing is hard to get done these days, with a precious and …
Giving Thanks
One of my favorite Thanksgiving songs has a verse in it that always grabs my heart. I thank Thee, too, that all our joy is touched with pain. That shadows fall on brightest hours, that thorns remain. So that earth's bliss may be our guide, and not our chain. -From My God I Thank Thee …
What No One Ever Told Me About The Foster System
Joel Horst: I’m thrilled to share a guest post from a friend who works in the foster care system in another state. Having heard story after heartrending story, stories I had never realized were part of everyday life for some kids, I offered to host a guest post if my friend wanted to write one. …
Continue reading What No One Ever Told Me About The Foster System
They came for him yesterday
The social worker came for him yesterday. She stepped inside our door, and our child ran crying into the kitchen. He cried and clung to Will, his two-year-old tears saying, "Don't let them take me away!" Will picked him up, held him close, then buckled him in the car seat, and they took him away. …
The waste of love
I wake up with a dark hole of emptiness eating through my chest, and it takes me a second to realize why. My little girl is gone. The child that I loved from the minute I set eyes on her is gone. I still remember how she felt sleeping heavily in my arms that first …
1:15 a.m.
After my extended silence (has it really been that close to a month?!) I feel the need to check in and give a brief update about what is happening in my life right now. I want to write and write and write, about things like a Christian's rights and responsibilities and women in the church …
Peter Rabbit
"The Peter Rabbit movie you returned was two months overdue," the librarian announces. "When we finally got the movie, it no longer worked," she says, "so you will need to pay for a new one. In the future, please do not keep movies so long. We had a list of people waiting for Peter Rabbit …
Ordinary Families Can Foster
In our yard is a huge oak tree, its branches shading the sandy dirt underneath. Under the tree, a collection of spoons and cups pilfered from my kitchen litters the ground. My six-year-old daughter is the queen of mud pie production, and she takes it on herself to teach our foster children the craft. The …
arabah rejoice 