Maybe someday.
For years, Chet and Cassie Mogler dreamed about adopting a child internationally. With five young children of their own, they kept thinking that maybe someday it would feel right to make that dream a reality. Two years ago, Cassie heard about the need in their own community for foster parents. She sought out more information, but they both agreed that maybe someday it would be a better time to pursue foster care.
Shortly thereafter, their minister gave a sermon about using your talents to help others in need.
“I’ll be honest – I was frustrated after it,” Cassie says. “I’m not great at cooking or baking, don’t like to babysit and find it difficult to visit the elderly with five young children.”
Chet assured his wife her talent is parenting. At the time, she admits that hardly felt like a talent, but she spent some time thinking about it and brought up the subject of foster care again. But she and Chet agreed maybe someday it would be a possibility.
A few nights later, she was washing dishes and listening to a podcast. The host said: “You’ll always have an excuse for everything. There’s always a reason to wait for someday in the future.”
His advice hit Cassie hard that March night in 2018 – just do it. Why wait for someday? Chet suggested looking into the paperwork after harvest. But Cassie suggested they look at the foster care website that night. By the end of the evening, they had filled out the form, submitted it and not long after, received a notification about an orientation.
“Then it went boom, boom, boom. We heard stories of it taking up to a year and a half for big families to get licensed and we thought that would give us time. But for some reason, we were licensed by September. Our first kiddos came to us two weeks after we became licensed. It went really fast,” she says.
Awareness Leads to Action
Becoming a foster parent has been a life-changing experience for Chet and Cassie.
“There are kids in need all around you – in your own backyards,” Cassie says. “I’m more aware now of what goes on around us. There are kids right up the road or on your street who are being abused, neglected or go hungry.”
She admits she has developed more empathy, too.
“I have more compassion for children I see in public who are acting out,” she adds. “I’m more aware of how you need to raise children – a loving, safe, stable environment is extremely important.”
She doesn’t deny being a foster parent is hard. All kids have bad days, but foster children typically have experienced more trauma in their lives.
“But it’s amazing to watch the kids change and see how love, support and a safe environment allows them to grow over time,” Cassie says.
Chet says he looks at his resources differently now, too. Instead of thinking about what he can do for his family, he thinks more about what they can do to help others.
“I look at how we will use our profits differently. If we’re profitable and we’re successful, I think a lot more about others today. I realize how much I have,” he says.
There’s no better place to grow up than a farm, according to the Mogler kids.
The Gift of Life on a Farm
Farm life provides so many opportunities to learn life lessons, Cassie says. They have a chart on the refrigerator for the kids that helps them keep track of whose turn it is to go with Chet to do a special activity on the farm such as drive the tractor or go help with the pigs.
“It’s easy to take farm life for granted,” Cassie says. “I’m grateful the kids can go with dad to do fun stuff on the farm – a lot of kids don’t get to have that lifestyle. The best part is the time they spend with Chet. It allows them to bond doing something that matters and provides opportunities to learn.”
It’s been an eye-opener for the Mogler kids, too. They’ve been able to learn how different families operate and realize the gift of a stable home.
“It’s a privilege to lend a helping hand to those in need,” Chet says. “You don’t have to travel a long way around the world to make a difference. We’re young farmers and we need to stay close to home to take care of the farm, but this lets us continue to help out.”
Maybe someday came sooner than Cassie and Chet ever imagined. They both agree it’s been a journey they don’t regret.
“It was exactly what I was looking for – an opportunity to serve and help,” Cassie says. “Our faith has been a big part of our story – if you took faith out of it, we wouldn’t be foster parents today.”
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
