Hi! I’m Wesley Greene and I’m the worship pastor at Pleasant City Church. My wife’s name is Haley and we have three amazing kids; Emma 9, Bella 7 and Zeeke 5! Our family story is probably much like many other foster families you might know. We tried to start a family the traditional way for many years and went through every step that we could afford to make
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that happen.
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Haley and I had talked about adoption even in the beginning of our marriage and the initial stages of “planning out our family”. After years of trying for biological children we knew that God was definitely leading us down the path to foster care and adoption. So with a lot of prayer and some uncertainty we started the classes to get our foster care license.
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Fast forward a few months and a whirlwind of circumstances later. We went from being told a baby was about to be born and we were in line for that baby to come to our house to then being told “Oh Never Mind that child is going to another home.” And then to Haley getting a call on a Saturday morning around 7am that a little girl had been born the night before and we could come to the hospital soon to bring her home. We walked into that situation with no real life experience of fostering or adoption and didn’t know what to expect. Thankfully, for our heart’s sake, Emma stayed with us the whole time until her adoption was final around 14 months later! God was so gracious.
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A short time later we got a call about another little girl and we excited to welcome Bella into our home! In the foster care system every situation is different and as a foster parent you
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really have no idea what is going to happen from month to month and, sometimes, week to week.
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Bella’s journey was much different from Emma’s. Bella had visits with her biological family regularly and the plan was for her to reunite with her biological family at some point.
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As a foster parent, no matter what your attitude or thought process is, this is hard to deal with mentally and emotionally. The back and forth of the court system is frustrating; sometimes the decisions and actions of the biological family are frustrating; and all the while
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knowing that a completely innocent child in the situation is being moved around from home to home is very heartbreaking. Bella eventually did leave our home and live with her biological father. The time period she was not with us was over Christmas and, let me tell you, that was a tough Christmas for us. Haley and I had her gifts ready and so did a lot of our family. At that time we didn’t know if we would be able to get them to her. We were grieving the loss of a child that we had parented and loved. Again, no matter your mindset of it being a foster situation or an adoption, this is not an easy thing to go through. It was heart wrenching to say the least. About three months later Bella was placed back in our home and this time the plan was for adoption! Her adoption took a lot longer than 14 months but eventually Bella’s was final! Once again we praised the Lord for allowing this child to become our child.
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Our son’s adoption is a little different because it is not being handled through the foster care system and it is still in process. It should be completed soon! I share all of this background and story to be able to share with you what our heart is for all of us as believers.
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Our heart is that you would get involved in some way with foster care and adoption. I know not everyone can take children into their home. Right now we are not taking in any more children but rather we are focusing on raising the ones that we have. There are seasons for everything and it may not be the time right now, or ever, for you to take the step of being a foster parent, but I challenge you to do something! There is a quote by John Piper that has stuck with me since the first time I heard it, he is speaking about mission work in particular but I believe foster care and adoption is some of the greatest mission work you can be a part of! Piper says that we, as Christians, only have one of three choices when it comes to missions we can “go, send, or disobey.” Foster care is mission work! Not only do you have
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the opportunity to minister and influence the child you are caring for but you also are able to minister to their birth family as well! It says in James 1:27:
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“ True spirituality that is pure in the eyes of our Father God is to make a difference in the lives of the orphans, and widows in their troubles, and to refuse to be corrupted by the world’s values.”
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The Bible makes the mission very clear. We are to love and take care of one another. This verse is a call to Christians to take on the mission of making sure that every child is taken care of and part of a family. This may look like adoption, foster care, or supporting ministries and families that are working in that system. It also says in Matthew 25:40:
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“And the King will answer them, ‘Don’t you know? When you cared for one of the least important of these my little ones, my true brothers and sisters, you demonstrated love for me.”
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Again it is clear that we are commanded and commissioned to take care of the “least of these” and to do it like we are demonstrating love for our Savior!
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In Isaiah 1:17 it says:
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“Learn what it means to do what is good by seeking righteousness and justice!
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Rescue the oppressed. Uphold the rights of the fatherless and defend the widow’s cause.”
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This verse brings the point of “go, send or disobey” home for me. Even if adoption or foster care is not something in which you can be an active participant, supporting it is central to Christ’s message. For Christians, doing nothing is not an option. Haley and I love getting to share our story of adoption with people and encouraging everyone to get involved in some way. The One More One Less Project ministry is a great way to get involved and continue to fulfill the command we have been given to “seek righteousness and justice and rescue the oppressed”!
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