Thrasher Family
Tell us about your family.
We are the Thrashers! Will, Lauren, Olivia (4) and Bella (3) and right now, our family also includes 8-month-old baby D. We are a foster family in Greensboro, NC. With three small kids, our home is never quiet or slow! We love dance parties, going on walks in our neighborhood, and visiting our local park. Our family mission statement is to live, work, and play so that we can meet, know, and love the lost; that they may come to know Jesus.
What motivated you to be foster parents?
We believe that The Bible is clear that as believers, we play a role in caring for the broken; just as Jesus cares for us all. Before we were married, we had many conversations about adoption or foster care, but it never felt like the “right time”. In the Spring of 2018, we felt like we could no longer ignore children and families that were hurting right here in our city. We began praying specifically if God was calling us to adoption or foster care and really researched the two different options. We felt like God clearly showed us that we could play a role in opening up our home to children who may need a safe space through foster care. We may be open to adoption through foster care in the future, but right now what gets us excited is having the opportunity to play a small role in reunifying families. We love the relationships that we have been able to form with our kids’ families. We pray for reunification (even when our hearts don’t want to) and cheer them on in their goals!
Share a highlight of your fostering experience.
Our first foster baby has such a special place in our hearts! After she had been in our home for several months, she was able to move to live with some of her relatives. It was so hard to say goodbye to her! We had not met the family that she was moving to and placed her in the hands of her social worker knowing that we would probably never see her again. In her bags we packed a letter introducing ourselves and shared her schedule, etc. I also included a note with my phone number and expressed that we would love to continue to build a relationship with them. Several months went by without any word and then one day we received a text! We were able to invite the family over for dinner and since then have built such a sweet relationship! We are able to see her often and have even attended her birthday party. It has been such a gift to be such a small part of her story and build sweet friendships with her closest people.
Tells us something about your fostering experience that you didn’t expect or anticipate happening?
I don’t think we expected for foster care to be such a roller coaster. So many people are involved in the care of this child and all of these people have different opinions and interests. But, at the end of the day the decision rests in the hand of the Judge. One thing that has grounded us is that ultimately, we know that God holds the heart of the judge. God loves these children way more than we do and He alone knows what their story looks like. We can trust Him with these ones that we love.
What would you say to other families who are considering foster care?
To anyone considering foster care, we would say to remember that the goal of Foster Care is reunification. In our experience a lot of people look at foster care as a cheap way to adopt, when the goal of foster care is to help play a role in reunification. Often plans change and many children are able to be adopted through foster care, but it’s important to remember that adoption is plan B and reunification is Plan A. If this is something that you feel lead to – lean in! Go to interest meetings in your local county or through various private agencies. Ask to have coffee with a foster family that you know and pick their brains to learn more. Foster care is a hard. But it is incredibly beautiful and wonderful, and we are so honored to be on this journey.