My guest today is friend and fellow Christian fiction writer, June Foster. She's going to share the tender and wonderful adoption story of her husband's brother.
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| Christian Fiction author June Foster |
He's still my big brother, isnt he? by June Foster
My husband, Joe, loves to tell a story
about his parents when they were childless. His mom and dad were of the
Catholic faith, so after they'd been married for eight years with no babies on
the way, they decided adoption would be a good route to begin expanding their
family. They paid a visit to the Catholic Charities in Birmingham, Alabama. There
they found a darling, four year old boy named Marshall and brought him home to
be a part of their family.
For reasons known only to God,
after two more years, Mrs. Foster found she was pregnant and delivered her
first biological son, Mike. After that came my husband Joe, then Pat, then
Helen, and finally Steve. Marshall was thrilled with so many brothers and a
sister.
The story goes that Mrs. Foster
decided that the two older boys, Mike and Joe, needed to learn that their
oldest brother was adopted. She called a formal family meeting and made the solemn
announcement about how Marshall came to their family.
At the end of the meeting,
Joe questioned his mother, "Marshall still gets to be our big brother,
doesn't he?"
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| Marshal Foster 1999 |
Even though my husband left for
the army after he grew up, he and Marshall remained in touch. When we moved to
Lacey, Washington where he lived, Marshall mentioned to Joe he'd be interested
in finding his birth family but had no idea how to go about it. Since Joe had a
good knowledge of the computer, he offered to help. Alabama, which had been a
closed adoption state, opened their records up in the early 2000's, and Joe was
able to find out some information.
Marshall was sorry to hear his
birthmother had passed away ten years before but was encouraged to learn he had
a sister. Joe couldn't find a contact number for Marshall's sister, but located
a number for Marshall's niece, his sister's daughter. Marshall was too
ill-at-ease to make the call so Joe dialed the number while Marshall looked on clasping
his hands tightly in front of him.
When a woman's voice said hello,
Joe said he was phoning on behalf of his brother, Marshall Foster, and that
Marshall was looking for his sister. Joe asked if he have the right number.
My
husband thought the woman had hung up as heard nothing but silence, then a sob
carried over the phone. Finally, the woman said she believed he had the correct
number. She was Marshall's niece and said her mother, Marshall's sister, had
been looking for him for years, always hoping to meet her brother. Joe asked if
the mother lived in the same town, and again, the niece let out a sob. She said
her mother had died two months before.
Marshall was devastated, but his
niece's promise to come to Washington to visit him with her other sister the
following July, cheered him, and they made plans. But in June, just two days
after Marshall's birthday, he died of cancer, never getting to meet even his
nieces.
This sounds like a sad story,
but wait. There's more. During the
process of helping Marshall to find his birth family, my husband and I had
occasion to tell Marshall about our awesome and powerful God who sent his son
Jesus to the earth to die for our sins. We shared how to have faith in the
Savior and about our final home - Heaven.
Marshall began going to church with
us and gave his life to the Lord at Thanksgiving that year before the following
summer. He started coming to Bible study in our home. We were warmed when he
told us how he'd always felt empty. He pointed to his heart. He said he was no
longer empty inside, and he finally knew who his real Father was.
Joe and I were present on that
day in the middle of June when Marshall went to be with the Lord. I've never
witnessed anyone die before, but I can say, truly, without hesitation, that the
experience was beautiful. And I know that someday we'll see this wonderful man
again when we join him in Heaven to be with Jesus forever.
Thank you June for being my guest today. And readers take a look below at June's latest release Deliver us from Evil
The fraternity co-ed who coaxed Jillian
Coleman upstairs that night is no more than a blur in her memory, but the
consequences will haunt her forever. Ten years later, Riley Mathis, now a
Christian, can't tell Jillian he's the father of the child she aborted. The
truth will destroy them.
Excerpt from Deliver us From Evil
A man on his knees with his back to her scrubbed the tile with a
large brush. His muscular shoulders visible through his brown janitor's shirt
tensed and relaxed with every stroke. She'd never seen a custodian put so much
effort into his work as he sank the bristles into the tiles.
He stood and pulled his mop from the back of his cart. With long
swipes, he drew the sponge over the suds, and rinsed it in the clear water of
his red plastic pail. When he glanced up, their eyes connected.
Riley? Her pulse jolted. Did he work…?
The door to the OR flew open, and Jett walked out. He removed his
mask and shrugged his shoulders. Without slowing his pace, he whisked past her
and lowered his voice. "A lucky call this time, Jillian."
Lucky call? How could he say that? A precious life had held in the balance.
Jillian's exhausted body folded into a chair at the end of the hall
near the OR. The pent-up emotion wouldn't wait any longer. A baby had almost
died today. Sobs shook her shoulders.
"What... what did you say to her?" A quiet masculine voice
muttered. With a few steps forward, Riley peered at Jett. "I think you owe
her an apology." He dropped his gaze to the floor.
"What the…" Jett drew his fist in front of him.
In disbelief, Jillian stood transfixed.
Jett glared at Riley, tapping his chest over and over. "Who do
you think you are, you lowlife?"
She bit her lip and rushed to
them, grasping Jett's arm. This couldn't be happening.
With an easy shake, Jett brushed her away. He curled his lip and
grabbed the front of Riley's shirt with both hands. "This is none of your
business." He released Riley, placed his palms on his chest, and shoved
him hard.
When Riley lost his footing on the wet floor, he stumbled backward
and landed on his rear-end. Scrambling to his feet, he glanced back at the area
he'd cleaned. He shook his head. "And I deserve to be fired. I'm
sorry."
"Riley, wait." Jillian took a few steps toward the men
again. "Jett, calm down."
She worked her way between Jett glaring at Riley who hung his head
like a bad dog. "Why did you say that to Dr. Camp?"
"I…I thought he said something that upset you." Riley
lifted tortured eyes. "Your face paled."
Riley must've thought Jett spoke an offensive word to her. Her heart
softened. He had only wanted to shield her from pain. To protect her.
Compassion for the man, even concern, built in her. The sweet guy thought he
was doing the right thing.
Jett held two fists in front
of his chest, still on guard.
"Riley is a friend." She blew out a breath." I'd
appreciate it if you didn't make an issue of it. He misunderstood the
situation."
But had Riley actually misunderstood Jett's intensions? What Jett
said had hurt her. A lucky call.
"A friend?" Jett
shrugged. "Yeah, whatever." He pressed past her. "Forget it. I
wouldn't want to see his minimum wage check yanked away from him."
About Author June Foster:
June
Foster is a retired school teacher with a BA in Education and a MA in
counseling. She writes full time and travels in her RV with her husband Joe.
June has written four novels for Desert Breeze Publishing. The Bellewood
Series, Give Us This Day – February
1, 2012, As We Forgive – September 1,
2012, and Deliver Us – April 1, 2013,
and Hometown Fourth of July – July 1,
2012. June loves to write stories about
characters who overcome the issues in their lives by the power of God and His
Word. June uses her training in counseling and her Christian beliefs in creating
characters who find freedom to live godly lives. June's book, Ryan's Father, will be published by
WhiteFire Publishing January 2014.
