Shhh…. Daddy Doesn’t know
It’s a 5 hour round trip drive to our attachment therapist, and since the sessions are held in the middle of a work day I have not been a part of the bi-weekly trips. Last week that all changed. I was able to get away from work for the day for a marathon trip of driving, therapy and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (a little treat after therapy if the kids work hard).
Jennie and I talk after every session about what the kids have shared so I was a little baffled when all the kids were afraid to share anything with me in the room. Each of them had to go through the process of telling me the stuff about what had happened to them, and some of the bad things they had done, so that they could hear me say that I still loved them.
It is so wild to me that they would think that I didn’t know those things about them, but there was real value in them telling me so I could assure them that I still loved them, despite their baggage and behaviors. The longer I am an adoptive dad, the more I understand just how many parallels there are to God’s adoption of me. Love, forgiveness, and confession make a lot more sense seeing them from a Dad’s perspective.
Great parallel Lynn! I appreciate you sharing the connection between your relationship with the kids and God’s relationship with us.
We see a big difference in our foster daughters behavior when she just realizes that “dad” knows something she didn’t know he knew.
Thanks for the great insight. Our foster daughter can be a real handful when she thinks I just found out something new about her past trauma. Being a foster dad that works out of the home all day, I also don’t get to experience the phone calls or details of working with the state and/or councilors. This can lead to feeling a bit isolated and disconnected form the process of helping our daughter integrate into our home.
Thanks for all your posts. It is definately helpful to read your stories and gain insight to being a foster parent. Thanks