God puts people in your path for a reason. That reason may be to help you or that reason may be to help someone else but this I know for sure: there is always a reason.
On this particular day, I went to pick up my granddaughter from school and let her pick where she wanted to go eat. Of course, it was going to be McDonald’s and she wanted to go to “the one with the playground” so that she could play while we waited for the food. Originally I had planned to get it to go but I knew it had been awhile since she had been able to play there so I decided just to stay and let her play.
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Over in the farthest corner sat Miss Shirley. You could hear her every once in a while shout out to some of the kids that had started playing too rough or that was getting too loud. She came over to throw something away and stood right beside the table I was sitting at. God had put us both in the same place at the same time for a reason.
We started with the normal small talk about kids in general but then she started telling me about how she is a caregiver to foster kids. She told me how she had been doing this for the majority of her life. She told me about how she used to only work with teenage girls but that had changed over the years.
Miss Shirley talked about how many kids she had seen go through foster care while she lived in Washington, DC. She told me that she didn’t expect to see as many kids in foster care when moving to South Carolina as she had in the larger cities that she had worked in. She expressed that there were a lot more than she expected.
We talked about how kids are affected by being put in and out of foster care. She told me that kids that are older or have siblings in the system usually stay in and out of foster homes because people usually only want to adopt the cute, younger ones. Talk about breaking my heart because all kids need love regardless of what age they are.
She told me that she mainly gets children that need of some type of therapy to deal with the trauma they have been through. Although I am thankful that the state provides therapy to the children, this also pulled on my heart strings because I don’t understand how or why parents get into situations that don’t allow them to provide a stable environment for their children. No parent is perfect by any means but you don’t have to be perfect to provide love, safety and stability for your children.
On this day, I believe she had 5 kids with her, (there were a lot of kids playing on the playground that day) 2 boys and 3 girls, and I remember her telling me she had one more that was gone on a field trip. The kids ages ranged from 5 to 14 and my granddaughter had a great time playing with them. When it was time to go, Shirley asked me if she could have my number so that we could set up another play date with the kids.
Of course, I gave it to her not only because my granddaughter enjoyed playing with Miss Shirley’s kids but because I enjoyed talking with Miss Shirley. Even though she is older in age, she still gives her time to these kids that desperately need somebody to love and care for them. For this, I admire Miss Shirley and I hope to see her in the future. I pray that God will continue to bless her with the ability to provide help for these children. I am thankful to have met Miss Shirley so that I can share this story with you.
For more information about adopting a child in South Carolina, click here. If you would like to become a foster caregiver in South Carolina, like Miss Shirley, you find more information here.
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