My guests today know what it feels like to say “no.” AJ and Katrina Nowaczyk have fostered nine children, so far. And while they didn’t set out to only foster, they have learned a lot whenever the opportunity to adopt one of their foster kids came up. In many cases, circumstances pointed to needing to say “no.”
If you’ve ever felt the internal struggle between yes and no, I hope this episode is a support for you and a reminder that there’s simply no perfect formula for making hard decisions.
It’s not uncommon for us to talk about the unique balance of brokenness and beauty in foster care. In this episode, I am joined by someone who has experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly of the foster care system. Darren Morris is a father and husband, a store manager of a Starbucks, small business owner, and founder of a soon-to-be nonprofit, A Foster’s Hope. He entered the foster care system at the age of four and was eventually adopted eight years later into a family that now has 17 kids. (You read that right! 17!) In this honest conversation, Darren shares the impact of being a young kid bouncing around in the system, how his foster care experience has shaped who he is today, the value of mentors in his life, the redemption he’s seen in his story, and how he’s navigated trauma and overwhelming emotions.