Fourteen-year-old Michaela Gaither and her family were living in Hawaii when her parents, serving in ministry at the time, felt called to start fostering.
Her parents had a connection to an agency in Georgia through a pastor they knew, so when that call was placed on their hearts, they packed up, left Hawaii and moved to Cartersville.
“I was obviously sad to leave my friends and the place that I had been acclimated to, but I was really excited,” Michaela said. “I don’t remember ever having negative thoughts about going into foster care. I think my parents did a really good job at making sure it wasn’t just a decision that they made, but a family decision and that it was not just something we were doing, but it was a ministry that we were doing together as a family.”
For more than a decade, her family provided a safe, loving home to dozens of children, typically taking sibling groups of three to five children for anywhere from a few days to a few years. The experience allowed Michaela to learn how important her role as a foster sibling was.
“Foster siblings can make such an impact and a positive difference,” she said, “by being an older sibling to those kids who may not have a positive influence in their life and may not have a loving sibling or may not have the opportunity to live with their sibling.”
Michaela remembers one of the first girls they fostered stayed with her family for two years.
“We had the opportunity during that time to build a little bit of a sisterhood, and I think she got love out of that,” Michaela said. “She saw how a healthy family should interact with each other. And I really hoped that she could take some of her experiences when she was in our home and use that when she was starting her own family.”
Michaela and her family maintained contact and a relationship with the girl after she left their home and were even by her side at the hospital when she gave birth at 15 years old.
“While she was in our home, she was a part of our family — and even when she moved out of our home, that bond didn’t leave,” Michaela said. “The relationship you build with them for the little bit of time that they’re in your home, even if it’s a day or two, can make such an impact on a child’s life. And there’s still so much more to that story, even after they leave your home. You still can have that connection, and you can still be a part of their lives.
This long-term commitment to care, even after a child leaves a home, comes from a belief Michaela maintains that families who choose to foster enter into a calling much greater than just providing for a child’s daily needs.
“I think it’s a ministry, first and foremost,” she said. “And it’s a ministry that is life-changing to kids and families if it’s done the right way — in the way that the Lord intends it to be done.”
Michaela’s experiences as a foster sibling led her to becoming a foster care case manager — something she remembers telling her dad she wanted to do when she was in ninth grade.
Families 4 Families was her first job out of college, joining the staff about six months after the organization started. She was there for three and a half years, stepped away for a brief season and returned two years ago as the Director of Case Management.
As Director of Foster Care for the past seven months, Michaela now oversees a team of five supervisors, 25 case managers, an intake coordinator and a case manager training coordinator. Her role is to ensure that her team has the training and the resources they need to come alongside foster families to support them in what they do.
The perspective she brings from her experiences as a foster sibling and watching her parents navigate the challenges has influenced how she approaches her role today and views fostering — it’s not just about ministering to the children, it’s about ministering to the entire biological family, who may also need tools, love and support like their children.
“Sometimes you have biological parents who have grown up in the system themselves, and so they did not grow up with the healthy pattern of a loving family,” Michaela said.
For families considering fostering, Michaela encourages them to involve their children in the decision process and to help them see their role as a foster sibling. She also encourages an understanding that, while it’s a calling, there will be difficult times.
“That is something that my parents taught so well,” she said. “I saw them struggle, and I saw that it wasn’t all roses and butterflies. My parents showed, regardless of how hard it was, they continued to be obedient to the call the Lord had placed on their lives, and He blessed that.”
Reflecting on her journey, Michaela sees God’s hand in it every step of the way and knows it’s for His plan.
“I think it’s beautiful, and it just shows me the Lord knew exactly what he was doing when he led my family to Georgia and started fostering,” she said. “Something that I think about is one positive interaction with the child or even with the family can change the trajectory of their whole entire life.
“That’s something I watched my parents live out, and it’s a goal of mine now that I can encourage my staff and encourage our foster families to continue making a positive impact in the lives of kids and families that need it the most.”