Answering the Call
Before Lauren and Matt Spivak had even met, the Lord planted the desire to care for hurting kids in their hearts. Five years ago, the Lord called them to fulfill that desire by becoming foster parents. Below, Lauren shares the journey God led them on as they answered the call.
Early in 2018, the Lord had placed on my husband Matt’s heart for us to explore being foster parents. Matt asked me one night if we could open our home up to children who need a home. The Lord has always placed children on my heart, and I knew this was no mistake that He was paving a way for a bigger picture for us. We said yes, not knowing anything [about] what the future would hold for us, but isn’t that the great thing, that we have a Savior who DOES know.
I knew very little about what it took and what it meant to be a foster parent specifically. At the time, we had a 4-bedroom house and a lot of love to give. Throughout our journey together, we knew adoption was close to our hearts because my little brother was adopted, so we were open to that if it ever led to that point. I had hoped the Lord would make a way for me and my husband to serve children in some capacity, whether it be through adoption or through some other way like foster care.
I quickly found ABCH and called to ask several questions about how we would get started with foster care. It was important to us to be with a faith-based organization. I’m so glad ABCH has been with us every step of our foster care journey, even as we experienced personal challenges.
We went through classes in the fall of 2018, completed all the necessary documentation and certifications, and received our foster parent license in February 2019. We got several calls about children needing a home, but biological families were able to step in to take those children before needing to come to our home.
We finally got a call in April 2019 about a sweet 3-year-old who needed a home. The next evening, we met the most precious child named Quinton in our driveway. We opened his car door and were greeted with him giving us a Cheeto. This little guy had my heart the second I opened that car door.
We quickly settled in, made so many memories, learned a lot together, and prayed that however his case would end, Quinton would feel loved, safe, cherished, and just feel like a normal kid despite all the craziness that comes with being in foster care.
Five years went by since he originally went into foster care, and ultimately, his case ended in adoption. We had no idea our foster care journey would end this way, but we are so thankful we get to be Quinton’s forever family.
Everyone who meets him is so blessed by Quinton. I’m so glad we said “yes.” Quinton has taught us so much about love, goodness, forgiveness, patience, kindness, and just overall that we can trust the Lord because He had Quinton’s story written long ago.
Quinton has the biggest heart, and it has been my greatest honor to watch him grow in so many ways throughout these years. Our sweet and shy 3-year-old is now a thriving, silly, and joyful 8-year-old. He is the best big brother, sweetest son, and a precious child of God. I am so glad the Lord opened our hearts and our home to serving. He truly blessed us with Quinton. We are so thankful for the Lord making us a family.
We are thankful to have had ABCH by our side throughout these years, from the first phone call asking a million questions to being with us on our adoption court day. There are so many ways to serve these children, so I encourage anyone to reach out to ABCH to see current needs and ideas.
To learn how you can help foster kids or become foster parents, visit here.