ZionMagazine-Final

... But it was clear to me in
this moment that we were
to one day have a home that
provided shelter and love for
as many kids that needed
to walk through the door.
from his roots, a Branch will bear fruit. And Isaiah
4:2-3 reads “In that day the Branch of the Lord
will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the
land will be the pride and glory of the survivors
in Israel. Those who are left in Zion, who remain
in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are
recorded among the living in Jerusalem.”
My husband and I came from very different
backgrounds; different roots. Yet during our
upbringings, the Lord created both of us with a
passion for loving children. Before my husband
Jeff and I ever said the words “I do!” we knew we
had the desire to foster children in the future. We
said the infamous words “I do!” in 2003 and well,
life happened. And it happened fast.
By 2008, we were the parents of 3 children ages 3,
2 and under 1. These were our biological children
and the desire to foster still held a special place in
our hearts but would not become a reality for us
at the time as over the next several years we were
busy raising our 3 stair steps. We also became
pregnant with another little treasure that we ended
up miscarrying 11 weeks after finding out the news
of the pregnancy.
Along with our busy lives of raising a family, we
opened an indoor play/party center for children.
We loved this opportunity to entertain and enjoy
all the kids from our community who would enter
our business. This opportunity opened up the
door for wonderful memories, lots of laughter and
many new friends...and a dwindling bank account.
We literally wiped out our savings to keep this
business afloat, cried out to the Lord daily to
send us our manna to help provide and clung to
the words of the song Oceans by Hillsong as we
trusted the Lord with this fruitful, seed bearing,
root planting company that sucked away every last
dime we had to our name.
As much as we loved owning a business that
catered to families and fun, there loomed a dark
cloud above us as we faced the miscarriage of our
little one...which led me to begin to have panic/
anxiety attacks. On top of that, we were owners of
a company that was sending us straight into debt.
(And yes, all along our desire to one day foster and
care for orphans weighed heavy on our hearts).
Fast forward to 2012, we knew the Lord desired for
us to close the business due to a failing economy
and dwindling bank account. Meanwhile my
husband took several random jobs to continue to
provide for our family, as I, after much prayer, had
previously given up my job as a pediatric oncology
nurse to stay home and homeschool our children.
Along with homeschooling the kids, I did some
speaking/writing to Christian women on the side.
By spring of 2013, the Lord blessed us with an
unexpected surprise through my giving birth to
a precious baby boy, Emory Roman. He became
the sunshine after the storm of our miscarriage,
failed business and financial hardship. While
pregnant with this little treasure, I remember sitting
in a church service under our pastor Louie Giglio
(Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia) and
the Lord spoke the words orphan care over me. I
couldn’t get this thought out of my head. All along
I thought we would foster a child or two here and
there... But it was clear to me in this moment that
we were to one day have a home that provided
shelter and love for as many kids that needed
to walk through the door. My husband was in
complete agreement about this and the idea filled
both of us with an abundance of peace.
While this burden stirred our hearts and our
prayers circled this idea constantly, the Lord
opened a door of financial freedom for our family
in a very adventurous way. A job opportunity
12