Focus on the Family Magazine - April/May 2023
It can be a struggle to raise a family while balancing your work life, social life and relationships. Focus on the Family magazine is here to help! Each complimentary issue delivers fresh, practical Biblical guidance on family and life topics. Every issue comes packed with relevant advice to build up your kids, strengthen your marriage, navigate entertainment and culture, and handle common challenges you may face in your marriage and parenting journeys. Plus you'll find seasonal advice ranging from back-to-school activities to date night tips for you and your spouse.
It can be a struggle to raise a family while balancing your work life, social life and relationships. Focus on the Family magazine is here to help! Each complimentary issue delivers fresh, practical Biblical guidance on family and life topics.
Every issue comes packed with relevant advice to build up your kids, strengthen your marriage, navigate entertainment and culture, and handle common challenges you may face in your marriage and parenting journeys. Plus you'll find seasonal advice ranging from back-to-school activities to date night tips for you and your spouse.
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ADVOCACY / KIDS & TEENS<br />
Children do best when<br />
raised by a mom and a dad<br />
in a stable home. However,<br />
when that ideal isn’t realized,<br />
single individuals can<br />
play an important role by<br />
stepping in to serve as foster<br />
and adoptive parents<br />
for vulnerable children.<br />
Peter at home in Charlotte, North Carolina<br />
Living out God’s calling<br />
I thought I couldn’t be a foster parent as a single man,<br />
but I could be a mentor to children in need. So I embarked<br />
<strong>on</strong> that path, reaching out through agencies to help<br />
guide children who were experiencing <strong>the</strong> worst that<br />
life can offer.<br />
I worked closely with social workers, <strong>on</strong>e of whom<br />
asked if I might be interested in becoming a foster dad.<br />
“I want to, but I can’t,” I told this pers<strong>on</strong>. The social<br />
worker was surprised and let me know that I could be a<br />
foster parent.<br />
I signed up that day, and five m<strong>on</strong>ths later I was<br />
licensed and had my first placement. Since <strong>the</strong>n I’ve had<br />
close to 30 foster children. In 2019, I became a U.S. citizen<br />
and adopted a s<strong>on</strong>. I also have a teen foster s<strong>on</strong> who aged<br />
out of <strong>the</strong> system.<br />
My sec<strong>on</strong>d foster child was <strong>the</strong> bl<strong>on</strong>dest kid I have ever<br />
seen; I figured that he must be at <strong>the</strong> wr<strong>on</strong>g house. But<br />
that placement was when I knew I was to foster any child<br />
who needed a safe and loving home.<br />
The journey hasn’t been without struggles. As a single<br />
black man with white children in my care, I have faced<br />
additi<strong>on</strong>al scrutiny, and biological parents have protested<br />
having <strong>the</strong>ir children placed with me.<br />
The looks people have given me at <strong>the</strong> grocery store,<br />
park, school and hospital were unexpected, but I learned<br />
quickly how to stand up to that. It’s been fun to watch<br />
birth parents take a U-turn and begin embracing me as a<br />
dad, healing <strong>the</strong> racial differences or biases toward me.<br />
Healing <strong>the</strong> past<br />
Becoming a foster dad has also brought healing in my life.<br />
As I’ve helped children face <strong>the</strong>ir trauma, I’ve found healing<br />
from my own. Little did I know I’d have to revisit my<br />
childhood as a foster dad. Let’s just say <strong>the</strong>se kids really<br />
knew which butt<strong>on</strong>s to push, and I’m glad I found ways to<br />
use my past to help <strong>the</strong>m heal.<br />
Watching many of my foster kids’ biological parents<br />
reminded me of my own abusive fa<strong>the</strong>r and what I experienced<br />
<strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> streets of Kampala. I disliked having<br />
anything to do with <strong>the</strong>se parents, but as I learned about<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir backgrounds and what caused <strong>the</strong>m to lose custody<br />
of <strong>the</strong>ir kids, I realized that I had to be <strong>the</strong>ir ally, not <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
enemy. >>><br />
APRIL / MAY <strong>2023</strong> FOCUS ON THE FAMILY 43