February 9, 2018 was the day. It was finally move in day. I was more than ready to be in our own space, with all my people (dogs included) under one round roof. With moving truck in tow, we headed up the hill to our new humble abode or what we now call, “The Round Farmhouse.”
I won’t bore you with every detail of that day and the days that proceeded. You know the drill, unpack necessities, clean, then slowly but surely begin unpacking the rest.
February 27, 2018
If you’ve read along, you know that we were foster parents, we closed our home, and we began the process to reopen with a new foster agency. In September of 2017, I was told we would be open with our new agency in about 30 days.
Until about 5pm on this Tuesday, February 27th, we were still not open. (another testing of my patience)
An “open” home in the foster care world means that your home is ready and available for a call to take in a child. All of your paperwork, fingerprints, background checks, trainings, and classes are completed and signed off on.
About 5:30pm that day I received a text from the new foster care agency. The text said, “I’m just letting you know you are officially open.” I was relieved that finally we were open but in the same breath, I also shrugged my shoulders like “big deal” (insert eye roll) I was in no shape or form for a placement. I prayed God gave me a little time to get my life and my house in order first.
February 28, 2018
It was a normal Wednesday. I started work. Travis and the kids got ready and off to work and school they went. My goal that day was the same as it had been over the past few weeks, work then proceed to unpack and get things where they were supposed to be.
It was early afternoon and my phone rang. It was my agency worker. I thought she was calling to formally let me know we were “open.” Instead, she said, “Hey Erika. I got a call for a 16 month old baby girl from (she stated the county). That’s really all I know.”
My heart was racing. I thought, “I really don’t want to do this yet. I really wanted a younger baby. We did only want one child to start with though.” All the thoughts racing in my mind.
So as I processed all the thoughts I said, “I am not really ready for a placement yet but, this is exactly the age and the number of children we were wanting to foster. I’m just going to trust God and say yes.”
She replied with, “Okay. I will let them know. You should here from them soon.”
I immediately started calling and texting anyone and everyone I knew that would care. I was flipping out to say the least. This was the first placement call I said “yes” to that I was not in the middle of and making a mess of (like I did the first one if you recall).
There’s Been A Mistake
About fifteen minutes later my agency worker called me back. She said, “I just found out another agency has a family that is getting her. No worries. I will call you again the next time we have a child.”
I was disappointed. I felt a little foolish calling everyone so soon. Nevertheless, I trusted God to give me the exact child He wanted us to have. So in that moment, I remember saying out loud, “If it’s meant to be God, it will be.”
Another Call
I took an early leave from work that day with anticipation for this sweet little girl. So since I got the news that she was no longer coming, I decided to make the most of my spare time and head out shopping.
I went to a local antique mall and then I proceeded to a women’s consignment shop that I like to browse now and again. It was getting close to school being let out so I left the store, got in my car, and started to head towards the school.
My phone rang. It was an unknown number to me but the city listed was a city from the same county in which I was told the little girl was from. So I answered.
I’ll never forget where I was when the call took place. I was approaching an elementary school. It should have been dismissal time and there is normally is a lot of traffic. However, that particular day, in West Virginia, our teachers were on strike so there was no school that day. So as the call came in, I immediately pulled into the empty parking lot at this elementary school.
Take Two
As I answered the phone, the lady on the other end told me her name and that she was with child protective services. She said, “I’m calling because you are getting the baby we have.” I had a moment of confusion because I didn’t think I was getting her but I replied with, “Oh, I didn’t think I was getting her but no worries, I will gladly take her.”
She then stated, “There has been a misunderstanding. I’m not sure why they told you she was sixteen months old. She is only four months old. Is that okay?”
Me, wanting a young baby immediately replied with, “Yes. That is perfect.”
She continued to tell me her story. How and why she was placed into foster care. She explained her health conditions, her surgeries and hospitalizations. She wanted to make sure I was fully aware of what I was getting myself into. In that moment, I thought, “No big deal. I’m a nurse.”
After confirming that we wanted her to come to our home, she let me know that a worker would be bringing her to our home within the hour.
Her Arrival
It wasn’t long after we got home, a white car with state tags pulled up the driveway. He was carrying a baby girl in an infant carrier. He sat her in the floor and proceeded back to the car to gather the rest of her belongings. I stood there staring at this very tiny, bright eyed baby girl who looked at me like, “Who the heck are you?”
When he returned to the kitchen with the rest of her belongings, he also laid a bag full of her medications on the counter. In that moment, as I stared at this baby and as I stared at these medications in which I was very much familiar with, I felt scared and like a fish out of water.
I Knew It Would Be Okay
He left and as I shut the door behind him I had a brief thought of, “What in the world am I doing?”
I walked back into the living room to find my kids talking to her and smiling at her. I had no idea what to do with a child who had a congenital heart disorder. Sure, I had given these drugs a million times before but not to something so small. In the midst of doubt, God revealed something to me.
He reminded me of what He spoke to me in the middle of the night a year ago. If you’ve read a long you know, “You make the move, I’ll make the way.” I didn’t write down the date when He spoke that but it was a year prior (Mid-late February 2017), if not exactly a year to that day. He also made me aware of this baby’s age, which I knew but He brought me back to that night a year before. As I stood there in my living room, I did the math. His word to me a year before was exactly eight months prior to her birth (she was born at 36 weeks). He reminded me that we were told she went to another home, yet here she is. He confirmed to me that THIS baby was not a coincidence. THIS baby for whatever reason was supposed to be with us on this exact day, at this exact time, for a specific purpose. He had been orchestrating how this day would go for a year now, actually much longer than that. To say my mind was blown in that moment would be an understatement.
I had no certainties on how long I would get to have this baby in my home. Nevertheless, I did have certainty in that moment that THIS baby was supposed to be right here in this round farmhouse.
Love you friends
