Mary’s Story: Two Decades of Serving Children
Because of the sacrifices required of a house parent, it’s no surprise that on a national scale, The Houseparent Network states the average tenure of a house parent is about 6 months. However, we are really blessed that many of our house parents have served for years, some having served since before the children in their home were even born.
Mary Jackson is one of those servant leaders who has consistently cared for children in Decatur for over 20 years. Not only does she serve with her time, but also with the wisdom and gifts God has given her. She will tell you that even after two decades of service, she’s not planning on retiring any time soon!
HOW IT BEGAN
It was 1995. Mary’s daughter and son-in-law were house parents with us, and she would visit them, along with her only grandchild, at their home on campus. “I would watch the interaction between the house parents and the children, and it got me thinking . . . I began to feel the tug that I needed [a job] that had meaning to it,” she says.
One day, her daughter called and said they had a need for relief house parents and asked if she’d be interested. The more Mary prayed about the opportunity, the more she felt led to do it. In 1997, she joined our team. “For all these years now, [serving children] has been my heart and my life,” she says.
FACING HARD THINGS
Because foster care exists out of the brokenness in our world, our house and foster parents must choose to embrace heartache and struggle, to welcome it into their homes, and to meet children in the middle of it to bring them the hope and healing of Jesus.
Mary recalls doing this very thing one Spring afternoon, when a young girl came into care at the home she was serving. Mary vividly remembers that as the little girl’s things were unloaded under the carport by her previous caretakers, she started to cry, and cried for the majority of that day. Coming into a new home, leaving what was familiar to her, Mary says, “It was as if she felt she was being thrown away.”
This little girl eventually began to adjust and got settled into her new home. She lived with us for years, transitioning out of our home when she was a teenager. Now grown with a family of her own, she has maintained a connection with her ABCH Decatur family. Mary shares that she has sponsored some of our children for Christmas gifts and has attended our Open House event with her children!
Our house parents seek to love the kids in their care as they do their own children. When children leave, it can be hard on a parent’s heart, as they wonder things like where their path will lead, if they’ll remember the lessons they tried to teach them, if they’ll make good choices—things most parents tend to wonder over their children. With this child’s transition out of our home years ago, as with others, Mary had grown attached and struggled with feeling “one of her own” had left. She says, “I had to pray about that.” She prayed and was assured in faith that God has a plan, “God showed me that He gives us these children for just a little while to plant the seeds.”
THE JOY OF SERVING
Mary has found these hardships to be catalysts for personal growth in her own life and, despite the hard realities she faces while serving these children every day, she counts every moment as joy. “I still love it just as much today as I did the day I started,” she says, “I can be a grandmother role in the children’s lives. It’s probably more of a blessing and a reward to me than it is to the children . . . the challenges are many, but the rewards are also many and overshadow the challenges by far.”
Serving as her campus director and the Chief Operations Officer for North Alabama, Dr. Michael Smith says this about Mary’s service: “It has been a great privilege to serve with Mary Jackson during my time at ABCH. Mary has served ABCH since 1997 as a Relief House Parent. The Relief House Parent role is exceptionally difficult in that it involves serving in multiple cottages and being ready to step in at a moment’s notice for emergencies. The children love Mary and love her cooking! I will never be able to express my gratitude enough for the stability and consistency Mary brings to her ministry with children.”
Years ago, becoming a relief house parent was Mary’s next step to serving children in need. What is your next step? Take it today!
Photo above is representative of Mary and a child in care.