Unselfish acts

Ok, so Lil Miss had a "closure" visit with her birth mother yesterday. This visit went ok because Lil Miss is an amazing loving girl and they were at the library that we spend much time, so she was in a comfortable place. The visit is apparently DHS policy and a compromise with a caseworker and birth mother who wanted regular visits to continue after rights have been terminated.

My prayer is that God will work on this woman's heart. As frustrated and angry as I am at this woman, she has given the world a special gift... Lil Miss (and two other children who are as special as she is). I pray that God uses the visit yesterday to help her see that her child is in the right place. That she needs to let her go because that is what is in her best interest. The case worker reported that bio mom made many comments about how smart, well rounded, happy, ect... that Lil Miss is. I pray that this helps her see that her daughter is loved, secure, and well taken care of. I pray that she finds closure and moves on to get help with her own life.

I know that God has a plan for Lil Miss. I know that God is bigger than DHS, the courts, and our own wants, fears, and desires. I am secure in knowing that Lil Miss is in His Big Hands. My heart also aches for closure, so we also can move on. I know it will happen. I know that I do not control the timing.

All of this is in the wake of a stories that has the opposite ending. Stories of unselfish acts by other birth mothers and birth fathers. We recently found out that the other two children who we had in our home for an extended amount of time are either in the process of being adopted by the families they are with and about to be in that process. Both had birth fathers who were terminated by default (didn't make any effort) and birth mothers who relinquished their rights, knowing that their children needed them to let them go. We have friends who recently finalized an adoption of two precious little sisters whose birth mother also made this decision, and another who is going to finalize within the next few months, also after birth parents relinquished.

What an amazing unselfish gift. What a gift to give to your child. As foster parents, we are almost daily frustrated with birth parents and what they do and don't do. But to say "I know I need to let my child, my flesh and blood go so that they can have a life better than I can provide..." Wow. I pray for all those mothers and fathers who have made this choice for whatever reason. I pray that in the end, their will be no regrets. That they will always know they made the right decision.