A woman from California has fostered more than 80 babies for the past 34 years and says it’s what God handed her to do.
Fostering Babies For 34 Years
For Linda Owens, being a resource parent has been a challenging yet very rewarding job over the years. For 34 years, she has fostered 81 babies and never grew tired of taking care of abandoned infants. She has always loved looking after them since childhood. And up to this day, she still remembers each one of her foster children.
“This is what God’s handed me a gift to do,” the 78-year-old retired grocery department manager said.
Also, just recently, Linda took care of a 7-week baby girl. It’s the 81st baby she brought into her home.
Many of the newborns she took home came from biological moms who exposed their child to drugs in the womb. For that reason, most of these infants have developmental delays and cannot sleep through the night.
Linda is always prepared to care of the babies as she always has stocks of baby gear and clothes in her home.
Immeasurable Love
Mia Buckner-Preston, the Placement Division Director of the Alameda County Department of Children & Family Services, commends Linda for her heart.
“Her experience, the care, the love she provides to the babies, it’s immeasurable,” she said. Among the 500 resource parents, Linda is one of the longest serving foster parents. “She’s in a category almost all by herself,” Mia further added.
Moreover, the foster parents gain from her experience. In one baby girl that Linda fostered 12 years ago, she gave the foster parent good advice.
“She’s in her crib. Leave her alone. I know you want to play with her but if you wake her up, you’ll start interrupting her sleep,” said Erica, the foster parent.
Today, Erica and her daughter still visit Linda sometimes.
“She’s turned out beautiful,” she smiled. “It makes you feel good that you fulfilled your job.”
For the resource parent, it’s always heartbreaking whenever the time comes for her to hand the babies to their birth or adoptive families. But she always felt fulfilled in her mission.
Reference: Faithpot
