Becoming Family
Mike and Lindsey Thompson with Landon
We often see the Lord provide hope and healing to children and families as He works through relationships in our foster care ministry. In the lives of Mike and Lindsey and Sarah and Landon, he brought two families together who had each experienced hurts of their own, and who each found hope, healing, and a new sense of family during their foster care journey.
MIKE AND LINDSEY
Mike and Lindsey Thompson became foster parents with us in 2017. They had always desired to have children, but struggled for years with infertility. Adoption was something they thought about, and after watching her sister and her husband become foster parents, they decided to sign up for foster care training, thinking it may one day lead to adoption. Lindsey shares though, that after going through the classes and really understanding foster care, their hearts and eyes were opened to offering a home for children in need, whether that was through adoption or through helping children be reunified to their family.
Since starting their foster journey with us two and a half years ago, Lindsey and Mike have taken in and provided care for twelve children. The journey of fostering has not always been easy, but Lindsey says it has been rewarding in many ways.
She shares, “It [fostering] has allowed us to be parents, and it's allowed us to experience things that we may have never experienced otherwise. We've learned a lot. We've definitely grown closer together.” She continues, “There are definitely hard days, but it’s been very rewarding. I usually get to the point where looking back on it, I wouldn’t change how things go . . . I end up being able to see in the end why it happened that way.”
Another one of the rewards that have come from their time as foster parents is the connection that they made with sweet, little Landon and his mom, Sarah.
LANDON AND SARAH
When two-year-old Landon first came into their care, Lindsey says she and Mike felt an attachment to him, much like they have felt with each child in their care, but with Landon, she says it felt instant, and that, “he was just special from the start.”
Part of fostering often includes working with social workers from the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) to coordinate visits for children with their birth parents. Since these two families lived in two different cities, Lindsey says in the beginning, she would take Landon to meet with his biological mom, Sarah, and the social worker, on those visits at places like Chick-fil-A or McDonald’s, dropping him off for them to visit and then returning to pick him up later.
Lindsey recalls from that first brief meeting, how different she and Sarah seemed from each other on the outside. Even though it seemed at first like they didn’t have a lot in common, as the Lord put Sarah on Lindsey’s heart to get to know and help, she would see over time, that they did. She says, “From the very first time we went, I just told my husband, I don’t know what it is, but I have this feeling that I need to try and to get to know her. I need to try to help her.”
It started small over several visits, but Lindsey started to get to know Sarah little by little. “She and I started talking a little bit more at those visits, and I got to know Landon’s [two older] brothers.” Scheduling and meeting up was difficult at times living hours apart, so they ended up exchanging phone numbers to make meetups easier. This small exchange opened the door for them to talk and connect more.
“I would text her pictures [of Landon], and that’s when we really started talking and connecting,” said Lindsey. “We would text every day, and she shared a lot with me about her life, where she’s been, and what she’s been through. We ended up finding out that she really didn't have a lot of family . . . I don't know how to explain it, but we kind of became their family.”
In the time that Landon was with the Thompsons, they saw Sarah growing in her relationship with Landon and working hard to be able to bring him home. Lindsey says, “Sarah was at every meeting. She was at every class. She was testing negative through all of the drug screens. She was doing her part. She was really trying to genuinely turn her life around. I was just able to be an encouragement to her, and just let her know that we cared about her. That we were proud of her.”
After nine months of being in foster care with the Thompsons, Landon was reunified with Sarah and his two brothers.
THROUGH THICK AND THIN
These families have maintained contact and continue to be a part of each other’s lives. Last year during the Christmas season, they were even able to visit. Lindsey shares, “We brought pizza and gifts for everyone. They had a gift for us, and the boys had written the sweetest card which we did not expect. It made me cry. This was the first time we had all spent time together outside of a scheduled visit while Landon was in care and it was such a sweet time. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we planned the visit, but it was great and felt just like any other family Christmas gathering. We were able to visit with Sarah and play and enjoy time with Landon. The look on his face when we got there was priceless. I will never forget it,” shared Lindsey. “It felt literally, like we were family.”
Lindsey and Sarah
Although the Thompsons have become a support system for Sarah, Lindsey says that Sarah has also been a support to her as well, as she has talked more with her about their struggle with infertility, among other things. As their families have walked similar paths in dealing with various illnesses this past year, Lindsey and Sarah have been able to walk alongside each other and help one another through those journeys.
Lindsey says, “We have truly become family. I never expected to form this kind of bond and be able to maintain it. We are so thankful she has allowed us to remain a part of their lives.”
The Thompsons planned on visiting Sarah and her boys earlier in the spring, but due to COVID-19, they had to hold off their plans. It’s been a year since they’ve seen them because of it, but they’re planning on visiting them during the Christmas season this year, and they cannot wait to visit. Lindsey shares, “It’s been close to two years now . . . and they (Sarah and the boys) are doing really good. We are so proud of them. I can't wait to see them again and see how much they have grown and enjoy time together as a family again.”