I had a baby at Vacation Bible School….

WARNING:  THIS IS A GUEST POST FROM MY WIFE.  ENJOY

I had a baby at Vacation Bible School…

Well, to be clear, we took in a foster baby, and I brought him to VBS.

Chris and I have been foster parents for over three years. We’ve had several placements during that time, and one of those has resulted in adoption. It’s something that we feel strongly about and feel called to do. To agree to a placement is always a difficult decision. We have four children, three dogs, and two cats. We have busy lives and a lot to juggle. But, we also want to be mindful of God’s desire for our lives. What is He calling us to do? Where can we serve, give, love? Who is He placing in our lives for a specific purpose?

Well, on a Monday morning, sixteen days ago, I received a call from CPS regarding a 4 month old that needed a home. We were told it would most likely be temporary. Would we be willing to take him?

To be honest, our first reaction was “no”. I think Chris’s was actually “heck no”. This summer has been crazy busy. We’ve been to the beach, the big girls went to camp, we got a new puppy, I was teaching Vacation Bible School, and we were getting ready for our friends and their four kids to come stay with us for 5 nights. It just felt like horrible timing. But, as I mentioned earlier, there is never really much down time in our lives.

We discussed it over the next hour, in between Chris’s patients and my VBS groups. I talked about it with a wonderful friend, and I even mentioned our indecision to one of our pastors. What in the world did God want us to do? Why couldn’t He just give us a clear sign?

That afternoon, I called to speak with the supervisor to get some more concrete information. One thing I had neglected to ask was the baby’s name.

You see, several months ago Chris reluctantly agreed to renew our foster license. His only stipulation was that we would only take a baby boy whose name was Bartholomew. He later added another name.

When I called him with the baby’s name, I told him it was Bartholomew. He said, “you’re messing with me.” I said I was and then told him the baby’s real name. And he said, “you’re still messing with me!” I had actually forgotten that he had added another unusual name to the list, and it was his name. When he realized I wasn’t joking, he told me to call them and tell them “yes”.

Thirty minutes later, a beautiful baby boy was placed in my arms.

And about seven hours ago, he was taken right back.

It’s been a very emotional day for us. We absolutely fell in love with that little peanut. And, when you agree to take a child into your home, you also accept the risk of letting them go.

But, I wouldn’t trade a single minute of having him in my arms for the promise of a tear-free, loss-less existence.

Each hug, each kiss, each cuddle, each bottle, each bath, each nap, each diaper, each tear, and each prayer was a gift from me to him. That is such an amazing honor and blessing.

—-Katherine Park