Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

As safety/foster parents, we all prayerfully made the decision (or some obediently brought a child into our homes) to become a foster parent – and by doing so we unintentionally, indirectly ask more from our relationships with everyone we know.

Without warning we ask you, the one we do not necessarily know, to love and accept a child we do not tell you much about. We assume you are willing to do this just because you share life with us. We indirectly ask you to celebrate with our home when things are good. We ask you to support us when things are rough. And, we sometimes put you in a situation to grieve the loss of the child you have come to love as ours but do little to help you through it.

For this we are intensely grateful to each and every one of you, as our support, as we would never be able to do this without!  However, we have to ask; please pray for God’s plan for our children whatever it is. Foster care is, at least always initially, about reunification.

Pray for the healing and redemption of the family. Pray that our little ones’ parents would come to know Jesus and pray for our role in that. Pray for permanency absolutely, irrespective of what that permanency might entail.  Pray that upon reunification the parent(s) are ready and able to provide the best life for the child we all love. Pray for peace and comfort for everyone involved.

But we have to also ask that you do not pray against our child’s ‘case plan’.

Even though you feel like you are doing the right thing when you say things like “I’m praying that she (bio mom) doesn’t get him/her back” or “I pray you keep this one.” Or at the time of reunification, saying that you pray that the child finds it back to the foster parent. We really do know that your intentions are good. You love us and you love these children we bring into your world. You want to protect all of us from anything unpleasant and just do not have enough information to know what to pray for or what to say sometimes. So please let us help you.

Please pray for God’s plan.

God’s job is to unfold our future.

Our job is to trust, obey and glorify Him as He does.