AHHH, Laura is the wife of one of my college friends. As fate would have it, her husband was the pastor at Mr. McKinney’s home church and knows their family so well. She and my mother-in-law are great friends and they will always be a treasure to our family. Laura has an incredible presence about her. She is calm and can navigate the crazy, but I’ve always respected the lens through which she sees the world. I see her living fully surrendered and using her gifts, her home, her family, and their lives to love others. Nothing seems off limits and she just lives wholeheartedly with what she has been given. Always a lesson for me. Their family lives fully surrendered, always palms up ready for whatever comes and always hands extended ready to help others. Currently, they are changing their community and making a huge difference in Hope, AR.
- What have you OVERCOME? My plans
- What was your TURNING POINT/PIVOT MOMENT? There are many moments in my life when my plans were completely changed by the Lord, but one that stands out above most others happened in the summer of 2015. My husband and I are foster parents, and we were about 10 months into our 2nd placement. In September of 2014 we received a precious 9-month-old girl and 2.5 short months later her little sister was born and came straight from the hospital to our house at 2 days old. We were told from early on that the girls would become adoptable and we would have first choice since there weren’t any known relatives available. We began fostering with the goal of adopting one day, so we believed whole-heartedly that day was drawing near. However, at the final court date before both parents rights would be terminated, a cousin stepped up and offered to take the girls. We were shocked and heartbroken. Our original response was to fight against this and do all we could to keep the girls. However, a couple of weeks after the court date, I went to my favorite place to be alone with the Lord and just began venting to my Father. It sounded something like this: “God, what in the world is going on?? This is not how it was supposed to go. We were supposed to be their forever family. Why didn’t you do something?! The goal was adoption!” And His very clear response was: “Your goal was adoption; My goal is my glory. Are you willing to never adopt if fostering is what brings Me the most glory? Am I worth it?” Whew. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a conversation like that with the Lord, but He gently set me straight very quickly. As I pondered His questions to me, it didn’t take long for me to respond with, “Yes, Lord, You are worth it, and I want to be obedient in whatever brings You the most glory.” So, the girls began visits with their cousin and her family, and the next March (2016), they were adopted into their forever family. By God’s grace, I was able to be in the courtroom that day. That was 2.5 years ago, and I still stay in touch with their mom. We’ve been to several of their birthday parties and see pictures of how they’ve grown all of the time on social media. Are their still days when I grieve the loss? Absolutely! Have we been given the opportunity to adopt yet? No. BUT, that is no longer our goal, either. If one day the Lord sees fit for us to adopt, praise Him. If He chooses to use us in the foster care system only, praise Him. Our number one goal is HIS glory.
- 5-word life mantra: Wherever He leads I’ll go
- Quote you live by: Acts 20:24 “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
- How to connect with me:
- blog/website- www.bramlettbarometer.
blogspot.com - Facebook: Laura Bramlett
- Instagram: @laura.bramlett
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/laurabram/
- blog/website- www.bramlettbarometer.
