The Phone Call

School had just wrapped up for the year. It was Monday, and I contemplated all the things I wanted to accomplish over the summer as I was making bread. There were closets to clean out, rooms that needed thorough cleanings, and curtains to wash. I was not sure where to start, and I didn't want to get in the middle of some big project and then get a phone call about taking a placement.

Ahhh, how I loved making bread and working in my kitchen. The children were enjoying their first day of summer break and had made themselves scarce. Every now and then one would come in the kitchen for a quick hug or a drink of water, but they didn't stay long. I had so much to be thankful for. Four healthy beautiful children, a wonderful husband, a nice home, and a loving church family were top on the list.

As I washed up a few dishes, the phone rang and startled me from my thoughts.

"Hello."

"Yes, I'm calling for Les or Natasha Miller."

"This is Natasha."

"This is TFI . We are calling in regards to a placement you may be interested in."

My heart began pounding in my ears. "Yes, " I answered.

The lady responded, "We have three siblings that are in need of an adoptive placement. They have been in foster care for two and a half years."

"How old are they?" I asked.

"Troy is seven, but will be eight in about six weeks. Mikey is five, and Amber is three."

My mind began racing. The children were just the ages we had envisioned. Could they be the ones God was bringing home? I then asked, "Have the parental rights been severed?"

"No," she answered, but quickly followed with, "But we expect that to happen at anytime. They had the court hearing in March, and we are just waiting for the judge's ruling. We expect an answer by the beginning of June."

My heart sank as I asked, "Do you think the rights will be severed?"

She assured me that rights would be severed because the children had been in the system for so long and the parents had been uncooperative. However, this gave me some misgivings because we had specified that the rights be severed.

I then asked, "Can you tell me more about the children? Do they have any special needs?"

"All three children have asthma that is treated with medication. Other then that they are healthy children."

Taking a deep breath, I questioned further, "When do you need to make this placement?"

She answered, "We need an answer tonight. We have to move the children tomorrow."

"Ok," I answered as I glanced at the clock. It was nearly 4:00 p.m. "Can you give me about an hour to speak with my husband and pray, and then we'll call you back?"

She allowed me the time but stressed that she needed to get this placement secured this evening. If we could not take the placement, she needed to know as soon as possible.

I felt shaky as I hung up the phone. Were these our children? Was it time for them to come home? Was this the phone call that would change our family forever?