183. A Love-Stretched Life (with Jillana Goble)

<p>I was so excited about doing this podcast interview. Jillana and I have so many overlapping connections and passions: she lived in Guatemala (where our little boy is from!), she&#39;s a foster mom, she&#39;s adopted from foster care, she has teenagers, she has an ongoing relationship with a birth mom, and she has a child with special needs.</p><p>We could have talked for hours, but I limited myself to just around 30 minutes for this episode -- and it&#39;s packed with goodness! We dive deep into what it looks like to parent a child with special needs, the challenges and blessings of walking in proximity to birth parents of children we&#39;ve fostered and/or adopted, and how living a love-stretched life has turned their world upside down in the most beautiful of ways.  </p><p>Whether you are a foster parent or an adoptive parent or a parent of a child with special needs or whether your life looks completely different, I think you&#39;ll find your heart resonating with her passion to love those who need love the most and to walk alongside them without criticism or condemnation but instead with compassion.</p><h3>In This Episode</h3><p>[02:05] – Jillana introduces herself and her unique family.</p><p>[03:18] – Why did Jillana foster children before having children biologically?</p><p>[06:33] – What was her mindset before she started fostering?</p><p>[09:11] – An honest discussion on birth parents.</p><p>[13:31] – Parents with kids in foster care were often kids in foster care themselves.</p><p>[15:06] – Jillana offers advice on how to walk alongside other foster parents if you aren&#39;t called to foster.</p><p>[16:50] – Hear about being welcoming but with boundaries.</p><p>[19:52] – What it&#39;s like parenting a child with special needs.</p><p>[29:52] – The beauty of interdependency.</p><p>[31:22] – What does <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Love-Stretched-Life-Wrangling-Unexpected-Discovering/dp/1496453409/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=love-stretched+life&qid=1666648836&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjY5IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAu