CHA--Homeless Final Draft

Everybody Has A Story to tell...( Part Two of Three)
Sarah Preston Martin
When I got married we tried to have children but it just never happened.
We were both healthy and nothing was wrong however, God had different plans
and His plans were much better than mine. I have always wanted a big family. My
moto was there is always room at the table for one more or ten more.
I now have six children that are all through the State Foster Care System and
room for more. I am asked a lot how I manage my job, my store, and six children…it
is only by God’s grace. It has not been easy. There have been challenges,
there have been tears, and there has been a lot of joy.
Being a foster parent is not for the weak of heart. There are children
that will push your every button and make you want to give up. Then there are
children that you just want to hold forever. Each child is a part of signing up for
the journey. You take the good with the difficult. However, children don’t behave
badly because they are bad; they behave badly because the environment they
came from. Imagine being a child that does not know when you will eat again
or having to sleep with roaches in your bed. Imagine sleeping and wondering if
you are going to wake up to being sexually assaulted by someone you trust or
physically injured because your parent is angry. Children are not put into foster
care because Social Workers are mean or bored. Children are removed from their
homes to protect them from bad unspeakable things.
It has hurts deeply to pour your heart into children that leave and go
back to home. However, we are given a moment in time to love them, encourage
them and show them a new way of living. Yet, we are given a life time to continue
to pray for them. Some children never go home and need forever homes. Imagine
being a child and not having a place to call home or a forever home. Becoming a foster parent allows me to provide love
and family to children FOREVER. Giving a child the knowledge that they will always have a place at my table for Christmas,
their birthday and all the other Holidays to celebrate life is
priceless. Everyone wants to be loved and belong to a family.
There are times that I come home just want to sit alone
in a quiet room yet it is chaos with toys everywhere, kids
fighting over kid stuff, and the noise of 8 people in a home
together. On those days I am exhausted but the Lord gives
me strengths because this life is temporary and all I have is
today to love the children God has given me. If I can be HIS
love to them then it’s all worth it.
I am not sure if it is my current position in Law Enforcement
or my husband’s 20 years of Law Enforcement that has
made our hearts open to foster care. We saw firsthand what
children are exposed to in homes without Jesus. I would
encourage anyone considering becoming a foster parent to
take the first set and get certified. The classes do take time
but they are beneficial. Once you get certified you can just
help other foster parents with their children on weekend to
give them some “self ” time. Just because you get certified
does not mean you have to take a placement. However, you
cannot take a placement without being a certified home. I
am currently with Omni Vision out of Mayfield, KY. They
have been wonderful to us and I would love to answer any
question you may have about the process of foster care. If
God is calling you to open you heart and your home then
don’t wait. The need is real and the need is growing.
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