The lives of today’s guests are deeply intertwined.
Jennifer Bracken’s childhood was rocky. After a difficult home life and several tumultuous years spent in the foster care system, she became a mother to four children and her struggles with addiction led to her family experiencing the foster care system in various ways.
Jillana Goble is a speaker, author, and advocate who fostered and adopted Jennifer’s third child before fostering and reuniting Jennifer’s fourth child.
Over the past 15 years, Jillana and Jennifer have taken steps to build a positive relationship. Today, they live a mile away from one another and their lives are interconnected in a beautiful way. Their journey together wasn’t always smooth sailing—but due to their mutual effort, courage, and vulnerability, they have developed deep trust and connection.
In this episode, Jennifer and Jillana talk about how they’ve navigated the ups and downs of building their relationship, how foster parents can form connections with birth parents in a safe and healthy way, the importance of extending the olive branch early, and so much more.
Don’t miss this one!
TAKEAWAYS FROM TODAY’S CONVERSATION:
1. Show birth parents that you are on their side.
When Jillana first met Jennifer, she shared some heartfelt words of support. For Jennifer, who hadn’t received much encouragement thus far throughout her life, this helped her feel less alone. Connection is never a guarantee, but establishing a relationship of trust and support between foster parents and birth parents can set the tone for both parties to walk a more positive path together in the future.
“Those words—I’m rooting for you—I’d never heard those before.”
2. Challenging life circumstances can send anyone down difficult paths.
When we see birth parents dealing with hard situations, it’s important to recognize the obstacles life may have thrown at them. If faced with the same battles, anyone would have a hard time coming out on top. Staying aware of this truth can help us recognize the blessings we’re privileged enough to have in our own lives and extend a helping hand to those who have had to climb mountains we’ll never know.
“If I had lived Jennifer’s story, there’s really a good chance I would be standing where she’s now standing.”
3. Look for opportunities to extend even the smallest olive branch.
Building a relationship between a child’s foster parents and birth parents is a two-way street. If one party isn’t interested in connecting, it may be hard to get very far. And in some cases, it may not be safe or appropriate to do so. But whenever we can, it’s key to show birth parents that we’re in their corner. Start small and see what can blossom from a small seed of kindness.
“I would have never had that opportunity to say, ‘Hey Jillana, can you supervise my visits’ if she didn’t start transportation.”
- Free Video Resource From TFI: Foster Care & The Church
- [BOOK] A Love-Stretched Life: Stories on Wrangling Hope, Embracing the Unexpected, and Discovering the Meaning of Family (2022)
- [BOOK] No Sugar Coating: The Coffee Talk You Need About Foster Parenting (2019)
- Jillana’s Website
- Connect with Jillana on Instagram and Facebook
- Join Team 3:10
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Meet Our Guest
Jennifer Bracken is the mother to four children. Jennifer grew up in the foster care system, and all four of her children have been child-welfare involved at one point in their lives. Jennifer just crossed the milestone of being clean for 8 years—the longest consecutive stretch since she was a pre-teen. Jennifer calls this the “proudest accomplishment” of her life. She hopes in telling her story that it will encourage others to see the humanity behind parents whose children are in foster care.
Jillana Goble parents five children, ranging in age from preteen to young adult, with her husband Luke. She’s a speaker, an author, and an advocate.
Jennifer and Jillana have built a strong relationship over the past 15 years due to their experiences together through the foster care system.
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