About a year ago we walked up this yard path, on a rainy day in a village, to met our daughter just as she was about to turn 3.
It’s magical place.
Time seems to have time. Words are spoken slowly, kindly and clearly to children. They are repeated with patience. You see cows and dogs, chickens and ducks, horses and manure, but you smell the hay and the mountain breeze. This is a kind of heaven.
I am so grateful for the childhood Jackie had in this village. At times I felt pangs of guilt for taking her from here, but her universe with us has expanded a thousandfold, just at the right time. And a forever family is what every child needs.
Today we paid a visit to Jackie’s former foster family. Because we like them. Because they’ve won our hearts with their humility, easy going openness, honesty. And we saw our daughter’s love and attachment to them as a gift. Though in Romania it is unusual for adoptive families to keep in touch with the foster families.
So today I was joyously surprised to meet two dark curious eyes, peering from behind the foster mom in the kitchen. A new foster girl was placed in this loving family only three weeks ago. She seemed so comfortable already with them. In three weeks they’ve done wonders. Jackie and the girl held hands and went into the back yard orchard to play with the chickens, to ride the tricycle downhill into the soft fence, to chase the dog, to pick and eat apples together… They became fast friends. The shocking part for me is that they are very close in age, though Jackie seemed so much older.
So I was watching the girls open walnuts with the foster mom, then set the fire for the bbq with the foster dad… Observing these foster parents answering questions, gently correcting both girls, asking for their help to make them feel important and responsible, then the girls rising to the challenge, it filled my heart. This is a magical place. Even if we had kept in touch just to witness yet another season of fostering, another child being loved out of their shell, so freely and generously… it was worth it!
The foster families in Romania are not always appreciated and praised for the amazing work they do, as some do a better job than others (and in truth some need a long vacation or to seriously reconsider their vocation). Onlookers often comment that it’s a job that they signed up for. Why should they get any special recognition. But putting heart into your work takes integrity, and doing that pays off even in our day-jobs, so how much more impactful it is when you put your heart into fostering little hearts. It’s a 24/7 job which takes great responsibility, but its rewards, as appreciation from other adults, are seldom. Much like parenting.
Again, doing a good, honest, wholehearted job when nobody is looking takes a great deal of integrity. To all foster families out there who put heart into your daily serving – you are angels! My heart is so grateful for the day-in and day-out work you do! May your Orchards always be in fruit, and the sunlight Golden.