*Photo credit: Huffington Post

Rachel Goble recently shared her friend Julie’s fostering story on the Huffington Post.

As a school teacher, Julie frequently encountered children in foster care who had little to no resources. Even though she was a single woman with a teacher’s salary, Julie decided to open her home to children in care, simply because she had room at her table.

After completing her certification classes, Julie was contacted about Zeke, a four day old baby who was born addicted to meth and opiates. Even though Julie had nothing — no diapers, bottles, crib, or car seat — she decided to say yes.

Shortly after Julie began caring for Zeke, another call came about 1 1/2 year old Zoey. She weighed only 16 pounds and was covered in scabies. Julie said to call her back if no placement could be found in 24 hours. The next day, Zoey filled another seat at Julie’s house.

The third child to come into Julie’s care was Zyler, who was born addicted to meth. Zeke and Zoey have been adopted by Julie, and she hopes to adopt Zyler once more information on his background becomes available.

Julie has learned a lot from her decision to be a foster parent and eventually adopt:

“I’ve learned that I’m stronger and braver than I thought. I had to face the fear of being single. Not being able to do it on my own, being left with these kids with no resources or help or anything. How will I deal with their issues? My fear was that I wouldn’t be able to handle them effectively like they deserve to be handled and treated. But I learned that there’s no limit to how many kids I can love. It’s doable. You just make it work.”

Click here to read the entire article about Julie, Zeke, Zoey and Zyler. If you have room at your table and would like to make a difference in a child’s life, learn more about foster care and adoption.