In the Beginning

Halloween 1986 is a memory I will never forget.  God crossed our paths with such purpose, even an unbeliever would admit it was no coincidence.   Fast forward to December 12, 1987, God joined the five of us as a family in a small ceremony in the home of our Sunday School teachers.

Three years into our lives together, God opened the door for us to become foster parents.  We were excited and had visions of sweet little kids coming into our home for us to love and nurture.  We were going to follow God's calling and make the world a better place.  We made the decision not to become adoptive parents as there were too many people waiting for children and we already had three children.  It would be selfish of us.  It didn't take long to realize that we had a lot to learn, a lot of blessings to receive and many miracles to witness.

First, you never learn everything in pre-service training.  One of our early placements had come into our home with smiles and a secret history.  I will not go into their secret history as it was revealed to us later.  It is not printable. However, I will give you a snip-it of  their first night.  Bath time  brought new meaning to disgusting.  When we were bathing these two precious children, my husband noticed something in the water.  He thought it must be pieces of dirt but before he could say anything, one of the children started crying.  She was hard to understand but it sounded like she said, "My bugs!  My bugs!"  Actually, that is exactly what she was saying.  She was distraught that her head lice were falling out and drowning.  After consoling our new daughter at the loss of her bugs, we tucked them both into bed in their perfectly decorated and toy filled room.  Two hours after we had tucked them in, they were still quietly lying in bed.  I made one more trip into their room and asked if they had any more questions.  One angel finally looked at the other and then at me, "Where do we hide when the police kick in the door?"  Taking a deep breath to gather my thoughts, I said, "Well, that's never happened here but if it will make you feel better, pick a place."  They both looked around the room, turned over and went to sleep.  We were dumbfounded.  We were exhausted.  We were overwhelmed.  To top it off, our heads itched...every time we thought about it.  My head itches now just remembering. 

There is no training to prepare you for these sort of moments.  There is no handbook to refer to.  You are on your own.  You learn as you go.    You have to keep a sense of humor or you will lose your sanity.  With all sincerity, welcome to my world!

In Christ,

Judy

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15