A Calling

So many people have asked me over the past few weeks how my new job is going. I never really know how to answer that question - partly because I'm still in training and partly because I just don't know how to answer that question. In the past month of the new job, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed, confused, unsure, and surprised. The job I thought I was getting into is actually quite different than what I thought it would be and the adoption world I am joining is very very different than the one that I am familiar with. While all that is true, it doesn't mean that I don't, or will not, like the job and that I won't do well in it. In fact, the more I learn each day about the job and about Child Welfare, the more the uncertainty, confusion, and overwhelming feelings fade. You see, while I work for a private Child Welfare agency, I am working with the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare - the State's Child Welfare institution. In essence, while I am working for a private agency, I am not working in the area of private adoptions. All of the children I will work with will be Milwaukee County foster children - they are children with special needs, children with significant issues (mostly behavioral), and children who likely have a long history in the child welfare system. It can be incredibly difficult to find adoptive families for these children, especially the older children. The process for adopting these children is also very different than what I am used to. While there are homestudies and licensing regulations, most families work with the biological families prior to the adoption - they may first be foster parents and have a series of visits with the children prior to determining if adoption is a good fit. It is a complex process and system that I am learning so much about.

So what made me so unsure and confused in the beginning? I always said I didn't want to work for the Bureau. I never wanted to work in Child Protective Services. And I certainly never wanted to detain children... I don't want to be responsible for physically taking a child from their parents. A part of the training that I am completing for this new job is a 12 week academy through the Bureau. I am training with people who will in fact be the social workers responsible for detaining children, social workers who will serve as ongoing case managers, and those who will work on creating safety plans so that children can remain with their biological children after abuse or maltreatment takes place. These first few weeks I've found my personal views on child welfare being challenged - my personal opinions on what should happen to a child or parent when abuse or neglect takes place at times contradict what I am being told I must profesionally value. You can imagine how difficult it is to manage conflicting personal and professional values... especially those that challenge my religious beliefs.

This past Sunday our pastor shared a sermon as a part of our Discovering Transformation series. It couldn't have come at a better time for me. He spoke about work and how we're gifted by God to work. That work is done, should be done, to honor God. We really have three ways to look at our work: as a job, as a career, or as a calling. We can decide to work because we need to have a job to pay the bills and support our families. We can have a career that focuses on our personal accomplishments and growth within a job. Or we can consider our work our calling - a gift from God that challenges us to partner with Him to make a difference in the world. When I took this new job, I think I first thought of it as just a job. We were having a baby and I knew that we would need two incomes to be able to provide for her basic needs. Then I began to think of it as the start to my career - here I was turning my personal passion into my career. I saw this job as a starting point to eventually working in the area of private international adoptions (and yes, I still do hope to eventually work for a Christian, private adoption agency that specializes in international adoptions). What I didn't realize was that this is truly my calling and I need to change my frame of mind to really see it that way. While I am certainly providing for my family and furthering my career, first and foremost, I am making a difference. I am using the passion, gifts, and opportunities that God has given me to make a difference in the lives of children who need and deserve loving, forever families. I am literally following his command to care for orphans and defend the cause of the fatherless. I am blessed to have the opportunity to answer His call - to walk hand in hand with Him to change the lives of children and families in my own community. I think God knew I needed that reassurance and comfort on Sunday about my work as an Adoption Social Worker. I needed to know that He really needs me to wake up each morning and head to my job because if I didn't, His work just wouldn't be complete.

While I still have much to learn about the logistics and realities of my job and child welfare in general, I am feeling much more confident and excited about my new position. I know I will continue to struggle with some of the professional and personal beliefs in relation to this position, I am approaching them with an open mind and am being flexible about my need to be open to change. While I know this isn't the position I'll be in forever, it is the perfect position for me at this point in my life. It also happens to be the position God needed to put me in to be His partner in this world.

So, if in the past few weeks you've asked me how the new job is going and I haven't really answered, go ahead and ask me again. I may just have a different answer :)