By: Amanda Douglas

June is reunification awareness month.

A time to reflect on the families that are separated but trying. Apart but still thinking of each other. 

Reunification is the ideal outcome for families impacted by foster care. This is not to say it is always the best scenario for every child, every mother, sibling, or father. It is still the most ideal. A child is knit together in their mother’s womb. Created in the image of God. That mom (along with the father and God Himself) formed these little ones and have a unique bond. A thread that, in a perfect world, would never be broken. 

Questionable life choices, lack of education, poverty, & homelessness weave a family dynamic unsafe for vulnerable precious children made in this image of God. 

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:20-6:24:

“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Does this mean we go on sinning? By no means! Does this mean there is no forgiveness for a repentant mother drowning in the regret, overwhelm, and exhaustion of her own life choices? By no means! She deserves the opportunity to “walk in the newness of life”.

No matter the sin, those with a repentant heart are forgiven, set free, and loved through the work Christ Jesus did on the cross. Yes, there are many consequences for the sins we all commit. Some “unforgiveable” in terms of reunification. (Those whose rights are permanently terminated for heinous reasons and rightly so) Those individuals are not whose case I am pleading to have heard. 

I am speaking for those families that under circumstances many of us have not experienced, made some very distasteful choices. These choices separated their family. In the midst of that separation, they sought out help. In their guilt and shame, they come to the realization that their actions and beliefs were wrong. When they searched out this help, very limited resources were found. They are left to navigate a system waterlogged with cases. Caseworkers with wonderful intentions, but not the manpower to assist those who need more than a checklist and a check-in. 

In this journey to open Eve’s Restoration Home, I have met several people who expressed the great need for our services. Some even expressed that their loved ones would have benefited from our home had it existed when they needed it most. 

Here are a few of their stories …

A concerned mother writes:

“My daughter has struggled with drug addiction and mental health issues for 26 years.  She has gone to countless rehabs for varying amounts of time.  She went to both faith based and non-faith based programs. 

The saddest part of my daughter’s journey is that 8 years into her addiction she became pregnant with our first grandchild.  Within one year of her birth, our daughter lost custody.  She tried so hard to be in her daughter’s life but could not keep herself clean long enough to start the process.  I believe that if Eve’s Restoration Home existed 15 years ago, my daughter would have a relationship with her child.  

Throughout this long and painful journey I have asked why we don’t have a Lutheran rehab center (for both men and women).  I believe that Lutheran theology and correct presentation of the Law and the Gospel would be so powerful in bringing these struggling, broken, desperate souls back to Jesus and the abundant life that He provides.

I hope and pray that Eve’s Restoration Home will allow other women like my daughter, fulfill their role as the kind of woman and mother that God planned for them to be.”

A former foster youth recently expressed that if Eve’s Restoration Home would have existed when she was impacted by foster care, it would have been a valuable resource for her unhoused mother. She writes: 

“My childhood was filled with instability, uncertainty, and pain. Both of my parents struggled with drug addiction, and there were times when my mother was homeless. As a result, I entered the foster care system and was moved between three different homes. At a young age, I learned what it felt like to have your entire life packed into trash bags and carried from one unfamiliar place to another.

One of the hardest parts was being placed in the homes of people I didn’t know. Every time I was moved, I had to leave behind the little sense of comfort and familiarity I had managed to build. I never knew how long I would stay, what the rules would be, or whether I would be treated with kindness. Instead of feeling safe and protected, I often felt alone, unwanted, and scared.

There were many nights when I cried myself to sleep, wondering why my life was so different from everyone else’s. I longed for stability, for parents who could care for me, and for a place that truly felt like home. The feeling of being passed from house to house made it difficult to trust others and believe that I belonged anywhere.

Despite everything I endured, I refused to let my circumstances define my future. The hardships I experienced taught me resilience, determination, and strength. They taught me how to keep going when life felt unfair and how to find hope even in the darkest moments. My experiences have given me a deep sense of empathy for others who are struggling and a profound appreciation for the stability and opportunities I have worked hard to create for myself. While I cannot change the past, I can use it as motivation to build a future that is different from the one I was given. “

A Parent Who Believes Mothers Deserve (need) Better Support expressed: 

“My young adult daughter became pregnant while living with her boyfriend. When things became unstable, she came back home to have her baby. After the birth, she returned to live with the boyfriend, hoping they could build a life together. But the environment was not healthy, and eventually the Children’s Division became involved.

We stepped in and agreed to take custody of the baby when asked by the Children’s Division. My daughter, meanwhile, spiraled into homelessness. She was postpartum, vulnerable, and completely lost. The boyfriend’s influence only pulled her further away from the stability she desperately needed.

She ended up living on the street — not because she didn’t love her child, but because she had no support, no structure, and no safe place to land. In that state, she couldn’t meet the expectations placed on her, and she ultimately lost custody of her daughter.

I believe with everything in me that if she had access to a program like Eve’s Restoration,  a place designed to steady her, support her, and help her rebuild, her story could have been different. With stable housing, consistent guidance, daily accountability, and protection from the influences that were pulling her down, she could have found her footing. She could have done the hard, necessary work to reunify with her daughter. 

Her experience is a painful reminder of how many young mothers fall through the cracks not because they are unwilling, but because they are unsupported. Programs like Eve’s Restoration will exist to change that trajectory. An opportunity to give mothers the chance my daughter never had.”

This reunification awareness month, if nothing else, I hope you realize that no person is beyond repair. Those who seek guidance, support, and encouragement, should have a way of accessing it. Eve’s Restoration Ministries is working to be that resource.

Interested in joining us on this journey?

Click HERE to access our interest form.