Trusting God’s Plan: The Child We Never Expected – How God Brought the Right Child into Our Lives in the Most Unexpected Way

It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon, the kind that wraps you in gray skies and deep thoughts. I had just finished praying — again — asking God if He was sure we were supposed to keep saying “yes” to foster care. My heart was exhausted, my arms ached from carrying burdens that felt far too heavy, and I was convinced we were nearing the end of our journey.

Then came the call. Then came the knock.

It was a little boy with big brown eyes, silent lips, and a presence that felt like a whisper from heaven. I didn’t know it yet, but God had just sent us the child we never expected—yet the one He always intended.

My husband and I never set out to become foster parents. We were the “safe” Christians—you know, the ones who tithe, serve on Sundays, and go on mission trips once a year. But we avoided the mess. We liked our schedule. Our space. Our comfort.

That changed the day we sat in a church service and heard a former foster youth speak. He didn’t ask for pity—he spoke with fire. He talked about growing up in ten different homes, how he slept with his shoes on because he never knew when he’d be moved again. He talked about the night a couple said yes to him—not because they were perfect, but because they were willing.

That night, God shattered our hearts for what shatters His. We signed up for foster parent classes the next month.

We thought we were ready. We weren’t. We thought we’d stay in control. We didn’t. But we learned that when God writes your story, control isn’t the goal—obedience is.

Our first placement was a sibling group of three. We went from zero kids to instant chaos—diapers, tantrums, court dates, trauma flashbacks, and more laundry than I knew was humanly possible. Every plan we made fell apart. I questioned everything.

One night, I curled up on the bathroom floor and wept. Not because of what the kids had done, but because of how little I had to give. I said out loud, “God, are You sure You picked the right mom for this?”

He didn’t speak audibly, but my heart heard: “I didn’t call you because you were ready. I called you because you were willing.”

That became our anchor scripture:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9

There were moments of sheer beauty too—first words, unexpected hugs, a child learning to sleep through the night without fear. But foster care is never simple. It is joy and heartbreak in the same breath. It’s learning to love a child who might leave—and doing it anyway.

Then came him—the child we never expected. We got the call at the end of a long placement. We had just said goodbye to two little ones who’d been with us for nearly a year, and we told our worker we needed time. “We’re not ready,” I said. “Give us a break.”

But then she paused and said, “This one… this one doesn’t have time.”

He was six years old. His file said “unadoptable.” He’d been in five homes. He had a speech delay, behavioral challenges, and severe attachment trauma. He’d been hurt in ways no child should ever be hurt. He didn’t trust anyone—and rightly so.

Everything in me screamed, Say no. You’re too tired. Too broken.
But I remembered the prayer I had prayed two years before:
“Lord, send us the one no one else wants. We’ll love the child everyone gave up on.”

So we said yes.

The first three weeks were rough. He didn’t speak. He didn’t make eye contact. He didn’t sleep. He hoarded food and flinched when I walked too close. But God whispered, Love him anyway.

So we kept showing up. Every day. No matter what. We made silly faces. We read books. We sang songs he didn’t answer. We sat beside him when he had meltdowns and stayed silent when he couldn’t process the noise of the world. Slowly, cracks began to form in his walls.

The day he called me “Mom” was the day I knew. He wasn’t just a placement. He was the promise. The child God had always intended for our home.

To every weary foster mom, every prospective parent afraid of the “what ifs,” every church leader wondering if the body of Christ can really make a difference in foster care—please hear me:

God sees the child.
God sees you.
And His plan is never random—it’s redemptive.

You may feel unqualified, unprepared, and uncertain. But God doesn’t call the equipped—He equips the called. And when you step into a child’s story, even if just for a season, you step into sacred ground.

The child we never expected has become our greatest testimony. He is still healing. So are we. But God is faithful.

And in case no one has told you lately—your yes matters. It echoes in eternity. Even when no one else sees. Especially then.

“He sets the lonely in families…” – Psalm 68:6