Costly Love: Foster Care Part 2

Foster care is costly but life-changing.
Ben and Corinne shared that love in foster care always carries risk—especially the risk of heartbreak if children leave. But children deserve adults willing to take that risk so they can know unconditional love.

It takes a village.
Lutheran Care emphasises that foster families need broad support networks—extended family, friends, church, schools, and workplaces—to share the load and help children flourish.

Love is at the heart of fostering.
For Ben and Corinne, their decision to foster was shaped by their faith: as children adopted by God, they wanted to reflect his love by welcoming children into their home and family.

Challenges are ongoing.
Foster care brings frequent government and agency involvement, changes in case workers, and the daily realities of trauma, neurodiversity, and learning difficulties. Parenting requires flexibility, patience, and relearning.

Support makes the journey possible.
Their daughters, church community, and friends provided essential encouragement, practical help, and stability—reminding them they were not alone.

Faith sustains foster carers.
Corinne and Ben spoke of God’s unwavering presence, compassion, and refining work in their lives. Bible verses such as Psalm 23 and Ephesians 1:4 assured them that God chose and sustains them, no matter the challenges.

Foster care brings joy.
Despite hardships, they described the delight of watching their foster son thrive, his love of life, his simple words of affection, and his growing faith in Jesus as sources of profound hope.

Everyone can play a role.
Not all are called to foster, but anyone can support—through respite care, meals, encouragement, or simply asking “how can I help?” Building the “village” around foster families helps children feel safe and loved.