Leaving Behind Comfortable

We are the Greiners: James, Katie, Seth (10), Lydia (8), Miriam (6), and Joel (3). Seven years ago, our family realized our lives were pretty comfortable, so we decided to change things up. James hit the campaign trail and ran for OKC councilman. After a yearlong fight, he ended up winning. It was a huge adjustment for our family, and it stretched us in ways we’d never been stretched before.
Then God started to pull my (Katie) heartstrings for foster care. However, it wasn’t God’s time for that work. I got pregnant with our fourth child, James went back to school for his masters, and our busy life went on.

Fast forward a couple of years, and God started pulling on the heartstrings again for foster kids. However, there were now 6 people living in a smaller house and we just didn’t know how things were going to logistically work. So we started looking for a bigger house. We looked for about 6 months and found nothing. We decided it must not be God’s time yet. The next month a friend told us about a house that we might like. I reluctantly went and looked at it and thought that it was perfect and we couldn’t pass it up. Two months later, we moved into a house that had plenty of space that God had perfectly orchestrated for us.

I immediately felt that then was the time for foster care. James agreed – our life had become comfortable and it was time to be stretched once again. We started the training and paperwork process in February of 2018 and in mid-July we got our first placement, a 3 year old boy and 2 year old girl.

The following two weeks would be the hardest of our lives! However, the day after we got our placement the church brought us diapers and wipes for both kids. Catlin McGee set up a meal train that lasted for weeks. The church continued to bring meals, provide childcare, and numerous people were praying for us. In other words, the CCC body has been an amazing blessing to our family!

The road of foster care has been more difficult than we could describe, but having the prayers and support of our church is how we’ve been able to withstand. God has not called us to this mission field and left us. He has given us the Holy Spirit and our church family to help us along the way. Our 2 foster kids have since been placed back with their biological mom, so now we wait to see who God has for us next.

We want to encourage others to get out of their comfort zone and do the work the Lord has called you to do, even if it seems like there are too many obstacles to overcome! God has a plan to make things work; we just can’t always see it because we’re not God!