"You Must have LOTS of Patience!"

That is what I get when strangers ask questions and I tell them we are foster parents. We must have lots of patience, a big heart, it takes a special person, I wish I could do that. The praise strangers heap on you can sometimes be annoying and other times be appreciated. Sometimes that praise can make you feel 'all that' and thinking that you are really wonderful. Truthfully, I have no more patience than the average parent, my heart is no different than any other parent's, and I am definitely not any more special than other people. My point is, I am a foster parent but I am just like every other non-foster parent. I get frustrated with all of my kids, I have bad days, I get exhausted, I feed them fast food drive thru, my house gets messy, my kids skip baths, my kids fight, my babies scream, and I argue with my husband. What is different is that our phone will ring and I will be giddy with excited that children are coming to live with us for however long that may be. I parent someone else's child as if I birthed them myself. My kids accept strangers into their home and they become siblings. There is always an adjustment period for my kids and the new kids. We hit bumps in the road, but we work them out. What I do is put my faith in God. It is His love that I have in me. It is because of Him that I love fostering. He is so patient, He has the big heart, and He is the special one. And I want to tell everyone, that YES, you CAN do this too!