From Foster Care to Forever

When you get the call for a foster care placement, you have to be ready to give a life-changing “yes” or “no” on the spot.

For Brian and Lindsey Fox, that call came on a Thursday afternoon – luckily, in a moment where they happened to be together. The Fox’s learned there were two boys who needed a home right away, and in a matter of seconds, they had to decide whether or not they would take those boys into their home.

They said yes, and the journey began.

“I freaked out, and then got excited and then freaked out again,” Lindsey says, almost laughing as she reminisces on the emotional rollercoaster she was thrown on.

Within hours, a tiny baby and a toddler showed up at the Fox’s home, and their world was quickly turned upside down.

Lindsey says their original intent behind going into foster care was to adopt. But, as they were mapping out their own plan, God had a plan of His own.

Within 72 hours of receiving the boys, Lindsey attended the initial court date where the boys’ biological parents were present. The heart change was almost immediate as her eyes were quickly opened to the real reason God had called her and Brian to become foster parents.

The Assistant Director of WinShape Homes Foster Care who was there with her, Lara Lynn Sturgess, remembers the moment clearly.

“She said, ‘I get it now. For however long these children are in our home, we will work with these biological family members to help them see Christ in us,’” Lara Lynn says.

Lindsey’s perspective had quickly shifted, moving away from a desire to see her hopes fulfilled and toward a desire to see God’s will be done.

With no guarantee of adoption and no promises about how it would all end, Lindsey was given a newfound confidence as she walked through that season of fostering.

A few months into their foster care journey, Brian and Lindsey received a call letting them know the boys’ grandmother had offered to take care of them permanently. Though heartbroken at losing the boys, they knew their role had been to support the reunification of that family.

But the story still wasn’t over.

Just one week later, Brian and Lindsey would receive yet another phone call – one letting them know the grandmother had decided she wasn’t able to care for the boys and wanted them to go back and live with the Fox’s. Even more of a shock was learning that the biological parents had voluntarily surrendered their rights, leaving Brian and Lindsey with the quick decision of whether or not they would take the boys back into their home – this time to adopt.

While the news presented the opportunity they had wanted the whole time, it also brought up some tough conversations for Brian and Lindsey. Brian says they kept wondering, “Maybe [the boys] would be better off with some other parents…maybe we’re not the best parents for them.’”

God was quick to respond to their doubts, assuring them they were called and equipped.

The decision was made. Brian and Lindsey again said yes, and the adoption process began.

UPDATE: Nearly a year later, Brian and Lindsey’s adoption of the boys was finalized. On April 16, 2019, the Foxes officially became the legal guardians to their two boys and began their journey as a “forever family” of five.

The two now confidently walk in the roles in which God has placed them, knowing that His love will cover them and their children as they continue to navigate this post-adoption journey.

But they’re still just as passionate about foster care, encouraging others who are unsure about the journey and fear they could never walk it.

“The first thought that goes through my mind now is, ‘No, you can’t do it, because you can’t do it on your own,’” Lindsey says. “But you can do it with the Lord. It is possible.”