By Jennifer Warawa
Guest Blog Post by Former Wellroot Foster Parent
I first heard the quote “Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone” from Andy Stanley many years ago and it was instantly engraved in my mind forever. The meaning of the quote is that sometimes a problem or epidemic seems too big to solve, so as a result people tend to do nothing because they can’t fix it. Think homelessness. The drug crisis. Children in foster care. Animals in shelters. While you may not be able to solve the global problem, you can do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.
That brings me to one of the proudest, most impactful days of my life. Last week, we moved our son into Baylor University for his freshman year. When I say, ‘our son’, let me give you some additional context…
In June of 2018, Zachery was taken into foster care, and at just 13 years old, Zachery moved into our home, and we became his foster parents. Up until that point, we had only fostered kids from the ages 6 to 12 and when the social worker asked if we would consider a teenager, it sounded like we would possibly be biting off more than we could chew, but we said yes. Given the short-term nature of foster parenting (or at least that’s the goal, with the kids hopefully being reunited with their parents within a year) we never thought we’d see one of our foster kids graduate high school, let alone start university.
As you have probably figured out, Zachery did not return home after entering foster care. Zachery had everything working against him. His background; his support system; his upbringing; he had missed so much school in 7th grade that he got held back and had to repeat it. Looking back, there was every reason he may not go to college. But he did. This success story is all on Zachery. Zachery had to step up. He had to want it. He had to work for it. He had to study. He had to put in the time. He had to put in the effort. He had to go after it. And he did.
What was our role? To open doors. Show him what is possible. Support him. Love him. Guide him. Be his champion. Be there for him. To build a community (his ‘village’) to surround him. I heard a saying once that also rang true for me… “You can’t be what you can’t see” – and our job was to open his eyes and help him see what is possible for him.
I wish I could say that every one of our foster children has a success story like Zachery’s, but they unfortunately don’t. Some do. But many don’t. But that never changed our role, which was to open doors, show them what is possible, support them, love them, guide them, be their champion, be there for them and build a community to support them.
We don’t do it for the end result, and we don’t do it for any accolades or praise (and don’t need or expect any). We don’t do it because we have all kinds of spare time on our hands and are looking for something to fill it. We do it because it’s part of what we’re here for. To help others. To give back. To change lives. It’s part of our purpose. I wholeheartedly believe that part of our responsibility is to do for one what we wish we could do for everyone.
If you have ever thought about foster parenting, I hope this post sparks something in your heart and prompts you to look into it. The need is great. If you want to reach out to me, I’d be happy to connect with you and share our experience and answer any questions you may have.
If being a foster parent isn’t for you, what is YOUR “Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone”?
