Seeds of Hope - Searcy Children's Homes

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FAMILY -- Maternity Services Pregnant! This word evokes different feelings depending on the situation. For most, there are tears of joy and happiness. A baby is a blessing for a married couple who is wanting their family to grow. Everyone is excited with anticipation for the new arrival as baby showers are being planned, nurseries are being decorated, names are being chosen, etc. For some, there are tears of guilt and despair. There may be feelings of guilt about being sexually active outside of a marriage relationship or feelings of despair, knowing that the life this child will have is not the life that would have been wanted or hoped for. For a young woman who is unmarried and experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, she has to ask herself these questions… What kind of life can I provide for a child? Am I ready to be responsible for a child? How am I going to be able to take care of a baby and finish school, pursue my career, etc.? Am I going to be able to be both “Mom” and “Dad” to a baby? Do I have the support that I will need from my family? Is the baby’s father going to be supportive, both emotionally and financially? What kind of stability can I provide for a child? Do I have the financial resources I need to raise a child? Am I comfortable getting assistance from the government? CHOOSING TO PARENT Parenting requires a lot of time and energy. Parenting is both challenging and rewarding. It is important if a young woman chooses to parent that she has family and/or friends who are supportive of her and will help her to be the best parent she can possibly be. By: Taryn Sheets, Director There are single parent support groups, Mothers of Pre- Schoolers (MOPS), as well as financial resources that will help her in her parenting efforts. She needs to be aware that there are people who believe that she should take “responsibility” for her actions and that she should parent her child, no matter what her circumstances are, or that the baby’s father should marry her, even if neither is ready to commit to a lifetime of marriage. She has to decide—take a step back and look at her situation. What is best for her and her baby? CHOOSING TO PLACE Not everyone who experiences an unplanned pregnancy is prepared to become a parent. She may still be living with her parents and is being parented herself. She may be in college and has hopes and dreams for her future and is actively working toward her goals. She may be well established in her career and doesn’t have the time or the energy to parent the way she would want her child to be parented. She may or may not have the emotional or financial support she will need to parent her child. Creating an adoption plan for a baby is one of the hardest and yet most unselfish and responsible decisions that a young woman can make as someone who is experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. It means that she is putting her baby’s needs for stability and well-being above her own needs. It means that she does love her child and wants what is best for him or her. Adoption is a very loving option! Whether someone decides to parent, or to place, Searcy Children’s Homes can help. Page 2 www.searcychildrenshomes.org office@searcychildrenshomes.org
F oster amily eature Our journey into foster care began on a Sunday evening. An announcement was made at church about two newborn babies who had nowhere to go. My heart instantly reached out to these unknown children, then I looked at Glen and said, “we can do that.” He instantly agreed. That night I called Taryn and told her we wanted one of the babies we had heard about. She graciously thanked me for my willingness to help and then explained to me that we would first need to go through training! A few months later we received our first telephone call. Within an hour I was given a six-week-old baby girl to care for. She was dirty, malnourished, and had nothing to call her own. As I cried, Taryn hugged me and said, “thank you for being there for this baby.” That is what foster care is all about. Being there. Being there to hold, comfort, reassure. Being there to offer a clean diaper, a freshly made bottle that has been washed, a bath and some lotion before bed. In James 1:27 we are told that taking care of these children is pure religion. We had no idea what this verse was all about until we lived it. This is pure religion because it is completely about someone else. It has been a wonderful experience to see my two girls (ages 5 and 11) learn to give of themselves simply because it is the right thing to do. We have chosen to serve as an emergency and respite care foster family. We take the babies (we are only taking infants at this time) when they are first brought into care. We may have the child for one day, one week, or at the most a month. The need for foster care is enormous. Since we began in August, 2006 we have cared for eight babies. Unfortunately, we have had to say “no” to many others. One of the reasons we have such a need in Arkansas is because of a wonderful law called “Garrett’s Law.” This law mandates that babies who are born with illegal drugs Glen and Wanda became foster parents in 2006. This is their story (in Wanda’s own words)… Glen and Wanda and family in their systems or born to mothers with illegal drugs in their systems be taken into care. The only drawback to this law prior to this Spring was that the babies were automatically taken into state care and the option of private agency care or even adoption was not presented to the mother. I began to work with Representative David Evans and with his help we were able to get Garrett’s Law amended. Now it is mandatory that the mother be presented with the option of adoption and be given the right to choose private Christian care for her baby. If even one mother makes this choice, the effort will have been well spent. We are very grateful to Representative Evans and to Senator Critcher for helping us to pass this law. Being there for these innocent babies sometimes takes a little effort. Schedules are altered (sometimes thrown out the window!), a good night’s sleep is a fond memory, household chores are set aside— sounds a little like it was when our own girls were born! We believe that these precious babies need the same love and care any baby born into a Christian family would receive. The catch is that Christian families must step up and be there for children, who through no fault of there own, are born into a world much different than the one our children were born into. Making this choice has made a lasting difference in our lives. Each member of our family has been changed for the better. Being a foster family is amazingly wonderful!! We are so blessed to have Glen, Wanda, and their girls involved in this ministry. They have stayed up at night, caring for babies who are going through drug withdrawal. They are truly advocates, not only for the children who are placed in their care, but for children throughout the state who are born testing positive for drugs. Their love, care, and concern provide babies with hope! Thank you for being part of our FAMILY! Page 3 www.searcychildrenshomes.org office@searcychildrenshomes.org
Page 1: Searcy Children’s Homes, Inc. See
Page 5 and 6: Sowing the Seed by Jeffrey Sheets 2
Page 7 and 8: Martin, Bill and Myra Kamerman, Mrs

Seeds of Hope - Searcy Children's Homes

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