Ep. 44 Deciding When to Say No: Aline’s Foster Parentt Journey

I'm Lacey Jones with Elevate the Individual episode 44 Deciding When to Say No: Aline's Foster Parent Journey. Today's guest is going to share a very vulnerable conversation about her decision to become a foster mom, as well as her decision to say no to future placements. Our conversation and her sentiments are genuine and extremely heartfelt. I appreciate Aline's ability to step out of her comfort zone to share her thoughts. Aline has been a lifelong friend since our early elementary school days. She is stinking talented and such a creative artist and someone that I have always looked up to. She is the mother of a beautiful teenage daughter who has also walked this journey with her. While Eileen had made the decision to foster prior to meeting her husband, he has also been a solid support and sounding board for her in this journey. Within our conversation, you're going to hear a little bit about Aline's faith and how it's played a vital role in her decision making process. And as you listen towards the end of the conversation, you may find commonality with some of the questions Aline and I discuss concerning the quest to understand God's purpose for us. I hope you're able to draw inspiration from our conversation for those questions on your heart. So with that here's aleene.

Yeah, so a couple of years ago, we had the opportunity to kind of buy this. It was a hoarder house, honestly.

Oh, wow.

And a great little neighborhood in Moscow. So we bought that and know three, like four roll off those huge dumpster trailers. We cleared it all out and so we spent a lot of time remodeling. We were going to downsize into that home, actually just a tiny little two bedroom, one bath. I mean, tiny, it's really small, but on a really neat big lot. And the neighborhood is great. So we were going to downsize into that and then a friend ended up needing that home, and so we just rented that home out to her. And then an opportunity came about a year later about the same time. So we finished that home up, got her all moved in, and then an opportunity came up to buy the home that we're in now from some family. So we then proceeded to remodel this home before we moved into this one. So it's been a couple of years of nonstop remodels.

I like it just because it's a creative process. It's a physical process, but it's also a creative process. And so within all of that craziness, when did you guys first consider becoming a foster family? How did that whole piece come about?

Okay.

Yes.

So fostering actually fostering has been on.

My well, was, I should say has currently is.

It still is. Fostering is just my call. I mean, it's just a heart project for me. Right. So that has actually been on my.

Heart from much further back.

I mean, it was something that I've always wanted to do. Obviously I was adopted and I didn't really know a whole lot about fostering, I just knew some about adoption. And so I had always considered adopting eventually, but didn't quite know how I was going to make that work. Things were much more tumultuous when I was younger. Right. And I just had Maya anyway, it just kind of got put on the back burner for a while, but it.

Never disappeared and then gosh, I mean.

At this point, it was a number of years ago. At some point, I felt like the calling to foster just became almost overwhelming. Like the pieces were kind of aligning. We were in a more stable position. Maya was a little bit older at this point. And so I started to pursue taking the classes, the pride classes for fostering. And then that's about when Jason entered my life. Yeah. I was going to say, was this.

Before or after Jason?

This is before Jason.

Okay.

So I had actually started the fostering journey prior to him being around.

Okay.

And then I got placed with two little girls, essentially. I got this call and they said, I know you're only licensed for one, but we have these two girls that are part of this much larger family.

Okay.

And can you take them? Jumped in, just said, sure, why not?

Why not?

Yes. Jumped in. And I remember and I remember the social worker actually saying how amazing it was, but I remember I was so nervous and anxious and like, what have I done?

Was this before they were placed with you?

This is before, right? Before. Right. And I'd gotten a call. Well, it all happens very quickly. You get a call and normally they're there within like a day.

Okay.

Yes. So if you say yes, it's normally the transition is just bam. And so my care group at the time, I had this panic text out to my care group and I was like, I have two foster girls coming, I need help. And so it was like this rally of people who came to my aid and were like, one of my friends is going to Walmart to get all the supplies, and one of them showed up with dinner and one of them showed up to know give baths.

Yeah.

And then the girls came while all the people were trucking into the house with all of these things. And so it was a little bit chaotic, but also like, in the best way.

Oh, yeah.

I mean, just crazy amount of support, right?

Yeah. And you mentioned a care group.

Yeah.

Tell me a little bit about your care group and how you built that.

So the care group was part of it was a thing that's part of our church at Real Life. And so we had had these kind of care groups. I think they're home groups now. And you just kind of are walking life with these people and the people from my original care group and then even the next one. I've been through a few of them now. I mean, we're still friends, so just kind of lifelong it creates lifelong support and lifelong friends. And I know at that time the timing was amazing because I wouldn't have.

Been able to do it without those people.

And then actually, one of the gals from my care group from then, she actually ended up becoming a foster parent later. So it's neat to be able to.

Kind of share that, know?

It's amazing because you can just text, hey, my life is about to change real quick here, and, okay, I'm headed to Walmart. What do you need? I got dinner for like, that is an amazing support system. And so to help you walk into that yes.

To start the journey that way, and especially considering, I mean, I was alone at the time, it was just myself and Maya, right. So to have that and then also my family was around, and so to have that kind of huge support system was I wouldn't have been able to do without them, honestly. Yeah, it wouldn't have happened. And a lot of times, the kiddos, they're coming from a tough situation, right. So they need a lot of things, and very suddenly right. And so you're just trying to have to gather all the things. And as we fostered more and had more placements, then got very used to the routine of incoming kids. Right. And then we need to do this and this and this. But that first one, I remember, it was a doozy.

So how long were those girls with you?

So all of our foster placements and those girls, they were with us for, I want to say 910 months.

Oh, okay.

So a lot of times, I think people have the misunderstanding that they're going to be with you for a very short period of time, which is actually what I thought. They just need temporary placement. It's all very temporary, right? Well, temporary, I learned, can be anywhere from a couple of nights to years.

It can be years.

And so I think you just have to go into it with the understanding that you don't get to know how.

Long it's going to be, so you better prepare.

That's just your answer right there. You don't know, you don't know, you don't know.

And emotionally, you just have to be ready for it. And I always say it's a god journey. Your faith is going to be what carries you from the very beginning until the very end. And it is all about faith because you don't get to know. There's so many questions and there's so many unknowns, and you're kind of winging it the whole time.

Right. And so that was going to be a question, is how did you emotionally prepare for this, but also, how did you prepare your faith for this? Because you don't just jump in and be like, all right, I'm going to turn my faith on.

Now.

How did you grow into that or how did you develop it?

Yeah. So obviously we had three placements total. Our second and our third placements, there was a lot more of that preparation and there was a lot more prayer time and there was a lot more am I ready?

And really kind of recognizing that you're.

Taking a leap of faith. Right. The first place, when I had I had no clue, I had no clue what to expect and where things were going to go and how the journey was going to develop. And I've since learned that every single.

Journey and every single kiddo is going to be different.

It's a different journey with each one, and you just don't know what that's going to bring or what that's going to look like. So it's a little bit of a prayer for fortitude and to have that soft heart and to just know that you're stepping out on your faith because it's so unknown. Right.

Yeah.

Other than that, that's all we get for preparation.

I like it. So they were with you for 910 months?

Yeah, actually all of them were about that long.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. And so as the second and third placements happened, there's kind of a court process that happens, and so we started to learn the schedule of court process with the kiddos and that kind of lines up with that timeline a little bit.

Okay.

Usually after kind of that close to a year mark, they're really trying to figure out where the kiddo is going to be. Right. Hopefully.

So they're not dragging it out for the kid.

Right. But also cases there are some cases that I have been years.

Wow. I know.

Yeah. Okay, so with all of this, did you get licensed? Did you tell them what age group you wanted or what kind of parameters did you set up when you started the process?

Right.

So you can specify, you can say, listen, I would like to do five and under and one child versus sibling set or whatever. Right. Well, those specifications are nice and all, but I realized 0% of the time, did the things meet my specifications? You know what I mean? I never almost never had them meet my specifications. Right. And so I did say no to a number of placements. I realized when you get licensed as a foster parent, there is a shortage of foster parents. And so you get calls pretty consistently and you have to just learn what questions to ask and when to say no and know what you're okay with. Right.

Yeah.

We ended up with mostly younger children, six and under, I would say.

Okay.

But two of our placements out of.

Three were siblings, so we had two each time.

Was your intention the younger children?

Yes. I really wanted to make sure that.

We kept the sibling order for Maya.

So that Maya one was because obviously.

This was a huge each time is.

A huge change for her. Right.

Yes.

And she doesn't unfortunately get to make a call. She is kind of along for the ride, which is in itself a conversation. Right.

I was going to say, wait, we've got some other factors into this.

Yes.

And people.

Yeah.

So she was not always a huge.

Fan of fostering, I think, but a lot of times in retrospect recognized what we were trying to accomplish. But it was definitely hard for her.

It was hard for her.

I mean, she's coming into her early teen years yes. During this experience, which are not the easiest, easy in themselves.

Right.

And so you've welcomed this in a time where yeah. The two of you are walking through some challenges and new experiences, so okay, well, at what point did Jason enter the picture?

So I had accepted the first two gals into our home and then I would say within that know, we had started kind of dating and then that was a whole conversation in the fostering realm. Right. Like we learned later, we were kind of winging it. We learned he needs to go through the classes if this is looking like this is going to know a permanent situation. Right. So then he needs to get licensed. So yes, I kind of did all of the things all at once. And so Jason had to decide if he was willing to be part of this journey with me, it was never his calling. It was my calling.

That was the question. Had he ever considered this before or was this something like, okay, here, check out this avenue over here. What do you think of this?

No, not his calling. Honestly, he was I'm not going to date a woman that's got young kids.

Well, budy, we got a different plan for you.

His kids were older, grown.

Right.

We met and all the things changed.

And he is a wonderful, wonderful man and he is great with kids. First of all, I will tell you, god brought him into my life at.

That time because of this.

I am 100% sure of that. I mean, he is so great with the kids. He was willing to take this heart project of mine on and he rolled.

With it for three, four years. That's amazing. I know.

And took on every hard thing with me and it was definitely something that I don't know, after the first placement, honestly, if I would have continued to do it by myself.

Okay.

So with him, obviously we were able to say I was able to say yes to a couple more placements. So that was pretty amazing.

Yeah. So what are some of the challenges of fostering? I know that there's privacy, so I don't want you to get into the nitty gritty details, but kind of on a surface level, what are some challenges that come along with it?

Like I told you, each kiddo is their own individual journey. And so there's obviously challenges with each kiddo because they're all coming from traumatic spots.

Foster placement is the basis is trauma.

Right. I mean, that's just where the kiddos are coming from. Unfortunately, that's the case. And so trying to learn as quickly as you can how to help this child in the best way possible and how to help them be successful and give them the right tools all very quickly. It all has to happen very quickly. And trying to adapt to what they need, that for me was the biggest challenge. And then one of our kiddos had some pretty severe behavioral issues and that was really difficult for me to adapt to. So I think just kind of walking that journey and trying to adapt super quickly was probably the biggest challenge for me.

Yeah.

So what are you most proud of during all of this fostering experience? What are you most proud of?

I think about that question, and it is very to be proud of something, it makes me a little bit teary, honestly, because I have a hard time identifying something. Our first girls.

Ended up in a.

Great position and we actually still see them occasionally, and that was many years ago. And so they ended up in a great spot with a family member.

And I look at that and they're doing really well.

And I guess that's I would say.

For me, I don't know how to.

Take credit for that.

But the fact that they ended up in a really good situation makes me really happy.

Yeah.

The other kiddos.

I know one is still in the system. I know, you know, the other two, I think, are probably doing okay, but they are split up.

They're all split up.

Big sibling set. And so it's hard not to take.

That on and feel like you failed.

In some capacity, honestly. I'm going to start tearing up.

Hey, welcome to the show. This is where Lacey cries, too. So it's a very cry.

Don't make me, you know, when we talk about challenges, fostering, honestly, is something unexpected. It's a very lonely journey. You feel very alone, and these things that you go through on a day to day basis are overwhelming. I mean, just overwhelming. And so you carry that until the very end, until they end up in a different location, and then you think about them forever.

I was going to say the rest of your life.

And then you think about them for the rest of your life. And if they're still in the system or in not an ideal situation.

It'S heartbreaking. It is, yeah.

Which speaks to your heart, I think, and who you are because of the capacity that you have to love someone in that way that you've just met, that, like you said, you had maybe, probably less than a day to open your home and get it ready. And you're not just physically opening your home. You're opening emotionally your heart, your heart, your family's heart, all the people, your support group. And so it's not just a surface level act.

Right. This is something well, and everything is.

Just on such an accelerated pace that it's a constant conversation with yourself. These behaviors are not their fault, and they're not my fault. This sadness is not their fault, and it's not my fault. Everything that these kiddos are going through is coming from somewhere else. And so we, as foster parents, are trying to provide a secure, safe, fun, healthy environment as quickly as possible. And that looks different for every kid.

Yes.

And some have food insecurity, and some are scared of being in the dark, and some are they don't want to be alone. It just looks different. And so, yeah, having to figure that out and figure out what makes them feel safe as fast as possible, it's difficult. And then us as moms, it just is what it is. Are here and doing this more than the dad sometimes. Right. We're just in the trenches, and we're in the trenches with the kids and with the schools and with the activities and all those things.

And even when you have a partner.

And a great one who is walking this journey with you, you're still also.

Alone in a lot of ways.

And it's something that you volunteered for.

Yes. And so you are volunteering to feel that way.

Right. I can imagine just the mental and emotional game that goes along with it of like, I know this is my calling. I know this is something that I, quote, unquote, am supposed to do right now, but yet I am putting myself into a very vulnerable, emotionally lonely space. And I would imagine that there's a big question as to why am I doing this?

Oh, when you're in the middle of it, that's the only question a lot of times that you're asking.

Right.

But then I will just share.

There are these moments that you also just with these kids that you and when I say you, I mean me, I will remember for the rest of my life. I mean, this last set of kiddos we took. Got to take out on a boat on Coeur d'alene one day and got to go boating for the day. And the little one, she's on the boat, and we're driving fast, and she's on the back, and she's just yelling off the bow, best day ever. Just like, if I could have gotten that on video, oh, man, I would have saved forever.

I'll remember that forever.

Which is your big why right there. These small moments build in and leave that imprint. And so with all of this, what support do you wish foster families could have? Or how can we better support foster families?

Well, answering that question is tough because there's so many different kinds of support I feel like that foster families need. And I will just share and this might be different for everyone, okay? But I will just share. What I felt like was the most helpful for me was I was lucky enough. I had a strong family support system, I had a strong friend network and group support.

And I will tell you that no.

One, unless they have fostered before, will understand your journey.

No one and everyone will try and.

Give you advice and they will try and give you an advice in a.

Way that they think is helpful and that they are coming from their own parenting experience.

And well appreciated is also tough because the things that work on a kiddo who has been raised in a secure household are not at all the things that work when you're the things that you're experiencing with a kiddo from trauma.

It's not at all the same.

And so honestly, the things I think.

That helped me the most are when.

People provided support in a no questions asked, no advice given sort of a way. They were like, here are two tickets to the trampoline park here's dinner one night, here's that kind of thing where it was just something designed to support you and make your life easier in some small way.

The very physical yes.

In the physical way, not so much. I mean, the emotional support is wonderful. And there were a couple of people who had been foster parents who I felt like I could vent to and they wouldn't hold it against me, the things that I would say, because they knew I just needed to get it out.

Right.

And the things that we say in those venting moments aren't necessarily the way that we feel overall. It's just in that moment we just got to get it off our chest. And so I think it takes a fellow foster parent to understand that it's the processing.

Right.

Sometimes you just have to get that external processing out there because if you hold it in to yourself, you're going to explode.

Yes.

And being able to choose someone who has already been in the trenches and understand there's so many layers of things that they understand and you don't have to explain or worry about judgment when you convent to someone who's already been in your shoes.

Right.

And the things that might sound terrible to someone else don't sound as terrible to someone who has fostered because you're.

Coming from a different perspective. And how could you ever think that? Well, because I've had this experience, this experience and this experience and I have a different lens in which I'm viewing the situation. And that can apply to any relationship we have with someone not just in the fostering world or outside of the fostering world that applies to motherhood. Right there. The lenses that we view things with are based on our life experiences, and no one has ever had the same exact life experience that we've had. So that's kind of a universal truth, right? Like, be aware of the lens we use to view things.

And unfortunately, I don't know that people are a lot of times. And so having fellow foster parents and that was something that if we would have continued fostering, we probably would have started some sort of support group here for foster parents, because I had a couple of friends, and I was lucky enough to know some people who had been through fostering and so lean on them for help.

But a lot of times it's unexpected.

People, too, who can provide the most help when you're going through that experience. But overall, I will tell you, fostering is it caused me to grow, or it helped me, I should say, to grow physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, for sure, because I really feel like it challenged me. The whole experience with each kiddo challenged me in ways that I would not have otherwise been challenged in a day to day way. We are not naturally put into these situations and really called to examine our behaviors and our reactions to things and our compassion and our empathy. Those things are not necessarily tested on a day to day basis. I mean, if you have a household of kiddos, you probably do that for me where otherwise I wouldn't have. It was definitely a learning experience that I do miss now. I mean, I miss being spiritually pushed out of my comfort zone and growing as a person, as a human. Right. I do miss that song.

Well, the next question, I guess, is why is that necessary? Why do we have to be pushed out of our comfort zones physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually? Why is that necessary?

Well, because we become closer to God, right? We do. It makes us be better people. We need to be better toward the people in our lives, and we constantly need to be better and serve other people who are not necessarily in our lives on a day to day basis. We need to get better at it, and we need to know how to serve people better, I guess. How else do you put it?

Yeah. And what is the benefit of serving people? I feel that same draw to serve others. And so why do we serve other people?

Yeah. I don't know. I do know, I guess, but it's hard to express, it's hard to articulate.

Because when we talk about the beginning.

Of the fostering journey, it's just a calling. I really don't know how else to.

I think it's a calling because as we grow and develop our relationship with God and these things are planted on our heart, he can see who we are, he can see who we can become. And so he's like, hey, I know the kind of vehicle that's necessary to help this individual grow into their potential.

Their potential? Yeah.

So let me just kind of plant this on their heart. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be a challenge. They're going to have to push out of their comfort zone in all these different realms, but it's because they have this amazing potential, so let's get in there and push. And you talked about serving other people. That's one way that we can push outside of our comfort zone. I don't know if this applies, but it made me think of an experience. Just a couple of months ago, someone asked me to help sew a quilt top. We're doing a service project through our church to donate a bunch of quilts to a children's hospital. And a woman was in charge of doing all, like, getting all the pieces put together and all the fabric. And she came to me and said, hey, I'm going to cut everything out. I know you like to sew. If I hand you all the pieces in the pattern, can you just sew it together? And at the time, I physically was not feeling well, but I did feel this little pull of like, maybe I should do that. And even after saying yes, I was like, what did I just say yes to? I have this, this, and this on my plate. Why did I say yes to another thing? I don't feel well all the things. But it was a catalyst to push me into this creativity mode again. And so I kind of had to listen to that little voice in the back of my head saying, why don't you say yes to this? Because then a domino effect. I start sewing. I'm like, oh, I remember what it's like to create again. I know how much I crave that. I know you crave that too. You are, like, one of the most creative people. And so this kind of lighting of fire that'll ignite the flame of I know what's within you. Let's just get it going, because I know the potential of who you can become. And so this has been your vehicle for that, I think, in this chapter. Now, you mentioned that it was something that you were doing. How did you know when it was time to say, no, thank you, we can't do this anymore? However you stated it of closing that chapter.

Yes.

Well, we would take a break in between each kiddo because there is a certain level of grief. You go through all these things after a kiddo leaves your home for whatever reason. Right. There's loss and grief and just like a processing time. Right. And so we did. We took breaks, pretty extensive breaks in between each kiddo before we said yes to the next. And I think Jason, honestly, he came into this journey and did it.

I feel like he wanted to support me in this.

And he said yes to that in the beginning. And then spent the next however many years doing this with me and these last couple of kiddos, it looked like it was drawing to kind of a close that they were going to be moved. And the state had kind of upped some requirements on a home study, and there was just kind of a little bit of a longer list of hoops you had to jump. We just I think Jason felt like.

Hey, I know you don't have to say yes to this, but can we take a step back?

Can we just move on to kind of our next phase of life?

Which is a big decision, and it's definitely kudos to him for saying, hey, wait a minute, I don't know that this is right. Moving forward, can we push pause because to continue forward in something just because well, she wants it. She wants I'll support her, I'll support her, I'll support her. He needs to honor how he's feeling in this situation, too.

Exactly.

And that's the reason I said yes, because I felt like he has supported me for a number of years in this calling and has never really been his calling. And I mean, he does all the other things. He does volunteers on the fire department and does these other things. Right. He's got a whole of other things he does. And so, yeah, I felt like it.

Was his turn, honestly, I felt like.

It was his turn for me to say yes.

So we did, and then we downsized.

And then we downsized in a much smaller home.

Yes.

And you're like, no, we can't say yes anymore.

We had, like, three empty bedrooms yeah. At our other house. And so it was time. And we had always talked about maybe.

Down the road after Maya goes off.

To college or whatever, taking on and exploring the world of fostering teens, because that's a whole different yeah. Um, but something that we felt we could not ask her to also partner with us on. And so it's a conversation we may have down the you know, Jason brought up a very good like, he's like, you can still serve youth and serve youth that need you.

And I said, yes, that is true.

However, it's still fostering something I just.

Care really deeply about.

And so I guess we're moving slowly into our next phase of life, and we're going to see what that looks like and where that takes us.

Oh, I love it.

And so there are many ways to help youth without signing on the dotted line to become a foster parent. Our own teenagers have been very blessed by youth leaders through their youth groups and church. There are a couple of families out there that I am beyond grateful for them without really knowing it. Being able to step in and provide whatever emotional, mental, spiritual support my kids needed at the time where it was just not something that I was going to be able to offer or maybe they needed to hear. My kids needed to hear it from a different voice, a different person. They needed just to have a little bit different experiences. And I think that is necessary in the teenage years. And so there are different ways to serve without becoming foster parents, because I know you have that heart of just wanting to love and support, I think.

The thing that I've been struggling with lately, because we talk about relaxing into our things, right?

Yeah.

I've been struggling to kind of relax into our next phase of life because I also miss that component of that spiritual growth. And I feel like when I provide, even though I know this isn't true, if I just go out and I buy a gift card and give it to somebody who needs the foster family or foster parent, while I know I love that I loved it as a foster parent, I feel like this isn't helping me grow, though. This is not serving enough. I don't feel like it's enough. It's not enough. And so I guess I'm just kind of waiting to see where god leads me in that way. Yeah, I can go buy gift cards all day. Right. But I am not necessarily being challenged to grow, and I just need to see kind of where he's calling me.

To be next and then be ready.

For it when it happens.

Right. And so you talk about kind of that in between time. So what do you do in between when you're trying to figure things out?

You remodel houses.

I'll keep you busy because seriously, there are so many life lessons that are learned.

Trust me on this one.

We've been doing it last couple of years.

Yeah, right in the in between. Yes. You try and take a breath and try and not overdo it and fill your time up with other things. Yes, you make yourself stronger. You make your business stronger. We've actually had the opportunity in the last year to help a couple of women who have been going through tough time, a really tough time, and we've been able to help them with our resources, which I love, I truly love.

But again, nothing has made me grow.

In the way fostering did. And I guess I'm just looking to be uncomfortable again.

Hello. Did you all just hear that she wants comfortable? A lot of people will say, but that is just a testament as to who you are, I think.

Yeah. And I know it will come. It will come.

And I need to be okay resting.

For the next thing. It's okay to rest.

Yeah, it is okay to rest. It's okay to take a breather. It definitely is. It definitely is okay.

Like, I'm talking to myself right now because of the things that you're saying. I know been around each other for quite some time, and I think we have those similarities of wanting to help, wanting to grow, wanting to develop, wanting to use our creativity and the spiritual aspect of that, too, and understanding that we can become more than what we are right now. And it's pretty amazing. So what is one message that you would leave with our listeners? Yeah, that's a hard one.

Yeah, that was a hard one. I feel like Fostering is invaluable it's invaluable for kids, and it's invaluable for us as people. And I think Fostering creates a space for us to serve another human and our most precious humans in a way that is unmatched. So I fully believe that if someone.

Feels like they have the capacity and.

The space, they should try it.

Yeah.

And it's a journey of all the things, and I feel like someone who's ready to jump in feet first.

Did they say feet first, or did.

They say head first?

Anyway, heart first is what?

Heart first. Good. Yes. Someone who's just ready to jump in.

Heart first should definitely do it 100%.

And on the flip side, when you feel the need to pull back to.

Honor that absolutely also 100%, it's okay.

Yeah. Fostering doesn't have to be a lifelong journey for everybody. I mean, it doesn't it can be a week or what. Like I said, it can be years or it could be a lifetime journey for some people, and I know there are people who have done it for their entire lives, but it's okay. At any point, you're still serving those kiddos, and they absolutely need it.

Thank you to Aleen for sharing her journey and the thoughts on her heart with us today. It's interesting that this conversation I had with her concerning kind of that moment of pause and the in between of one big thing to another. Hers was not the only conversation I had today about that same concept. I have spoken with other women who are in the pause of trying to seek inspiration as to what God would have them do and where he would have them serve. So if you're in that space trying to find the answers and reconciling what you like to do, what you feel drawn to do, and yet things maybe aren't moving forward, know that you're in good company. I think it's within that waiting that God can help refine us just as much as we're refined in the doing. So know that that space is just as important as the doing.

It's not easy, and it can kind of drive us crazy sometimes as we wait and seek and try and kind.

Of challenge, but it's also a moment of rest, and that's important, too. So, again, thank you for joining us today. If you do need help processing any questions that you have that have come up from today, reach out, head to the website, and schedule your call. We'll see you next week.