11/03/2024
Question of the decade.....Is foster care worth the heartbreak? Read on for the answer.
Hope Rising Up took the biggest hit we could recently. Our Co-Founder Rachel Doyle, and her husband, "Big" Mike, lost their daughter last week. While there are no words that can stop the incessant waves of brokenness that will flood their home over the next many years, I will share here what I saw.
Holly was placed in their home at the age of 16. There was no glamour. There were certainly heavy, rocky parts that they had to walk through. It wasn't Annie. It was walking through trauma and pain, but doing it consistently without ever uttering the words, "I can't". She was adopted and wrote the most beautiful essay I have ever heard about the stability she found in their home of 20 children. She spoke about Faith, HOPE, and love like I haven't heard in many years.
During the wake, I saw SO many people who came to love Holly because the Doyle's said yes. I saw Rachel, comforting the younger generation, and during one moment, she went and got water for them. During her own immense grief, she did what Rachel does best. She served.
I saw "Big" Mike look into the eyes of hurting youth, who were looking to him to make any sense of this. A good friend of mine has a saying and it is, "Put it on my shoulders. Mine are big enough to carry it". That is exactly what Mike did. He carried Rachel, his other children, and the youth impacted by this, by standing and worshipping the Lord, while many others would have been a puddle in the floor.
If you want to know if the heartache of Foster Care and adoption is worth it.....the answer lies in the words of Holly. "Faith, HOPE, and Love. She knew those truths because the Doyle's were faithful enough to answer the call to open their doors.
Please be in prayer for this beautiful family as they navigate what no parent should. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness that we know Holly was a believer and is dancing on streets of gold. That is the Hope that HRU brings.
