An Enemy Can Have Many Faces

Over the past couple of weeks I've really felt an urging by the Holy Spirit to pray for the twins' birthmother. I've specifically been praying that God would give me love for her. I've realized recently that in many ways I view her as my enemy. Not because she has ever done anything mean or spiteful to me. In fact, we have not spoken very much at all considering we've had her biological children in our care for the past 5 1/2 months. No, she is my enemy in my heart because I view her as the largest threat to us being able to keep our sweet girls.

All of this was really brought to a head yesterday because Shaun went to the latest court hearing and we found out that she is doing really well with her treatment plan. Our caseworker has assured us that reunification is not anywhere in the near future, but still, it doesn't make us feel very confident when we hear that the birthmother is doing well with her treatment plan. After all, the laws are all in place to protect the birth family's rights. Foster parents really don't matter at all until the rights of the birth family have been officially taken away.

As I just said, this latest news doesn't make us feel very confident- in ourselves and our own power to change the situation. However, we continue to believe that God can perform the impossible and being able to keep the girls is starting to sound impossible from a human perspective. Shaun has an especially strong faith that these sweet girls will be ours in the end. We just can't see it from our perspective right now.

We were praying over the whole situation last night and God really started to do a work in my own heart. I began to sense that the Lord wants to work in mighty ways over the next few months. Not just to let us keep the girls, but in a bigger sense, He wants to transform lives! God cares as much for the birthmother as he does for us. He wants us to show her His love. So far in this whole process we have done a pretty terrible job of that. We have only seen things from our perspective of wanting the girls. If we will be obedient in loving well, then God can transform not only her life and heart, but our hearts as well.

So, that has become my predominant prayer. May God give us supernatural love for the girls' birthmother and may our hearts and hers be transformed by the love of Christ. May she be able to make loving choices for her children and may the lives of these sweet little baby girls be protected and placed into the arms of the parents God has chosen for them.

I write this today because we covet the prayers of God's people. This is a very difficult road to travel down but God continues to lift us up. Will you join us in petitioning our Heavenly Father?