Kari always wanted to be a mom, but after battles with infertility and the end of her marriage, she
wondered if God was closing the door on that dream. Little did she know, He would fulfill her desires in
ways she could never have imagined.
As a teacher in a Title 1 school, Kari often worked with vulnerable children and witnessed the heartache
as some of them entered into foster care. She served in a Care Community for a season, supporting
another foster family, but it became clear that foster parenting would be part of her journey as well. “I
knew God was calling me to step into the hard a bit further and be ready to stand in the gap,” she said.
“I was terrified, but I knew I had to follow His call.” Just as the world shut down in the spring of 2020,
Kari opened her heart and her home to her first foster placement.
Being a single foster mom was challenging and isolating at times, but with the support of her parents
and Care Community, Kari welcomed several children into her life. Then, God called her to take another
leap of faith and care for two teen girls. “They needed us to step into their story with them,” she said. “I
was asked for months, multiple times, to consider placement of my girls. I was scared and it has been
hard, but it was what God was writing for us.”
Through all of this, Kari’s goal was always reunification. In fact, she didn’t even take classes to become
an adoptive home because that was never her intention. Thinking her dream of motherhood was over,
she wanted to guard her heart, but once again, God had other plans. The teen girl who Kari was initially
afraid to open her home to told Kari that she never wanted to go anywhere else. “I knew in my heart she
needed permanency as soon as possible, and I told her I’d do everything I could to fight for her so she
would stop feeling like she had to do it on her own, for this to be the last change, for her to be safe, for
her to be home. I walked out that day and signed up for my adoption classes.” A year and a half later,
Kari officially adopted the teen and her sister, and together, they began their next step as a family.
While she never would have thought her story would involve adopting two teens, Kari followed God’s
prompting and simply took each new step in faith. We can also trust God, just as Kari did, to write our
stories.
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not
be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31: 8
What is the step of faith God is asking you to make this year? Perhaps it is joining a Care Community,
volunteering with CarePortal, or making a financial commitment to Hands of Hope. Maybe He is
prompting you to take a mission trip or consider becoming a foster parent. Whatever our next step
might be, we can trust that God will be with us, guide us, and do more than we can ask or imagine.