Foster Classes

Well we finished our lightening round session of classes! Everyone who wants to foster in Ohio must take 36 hours of classes (12 three hour classes) and they are offered in various forms. You can take one class a week for twelve weeks. You can take two classes a week for 6 weeks. You can do the LIGHTENING ROUND woop woop! The lightening round is all 12 classes in two weekends. We wanted to go that route just to knock them all out quickly. I have to say it was a loooooong two weekends, but I'm glad we did it like that. For us, we are very well read parents who know what we're getting into with fostering. We know that 99% of the kids who come into foster care don't come from awesome families who took great care of them. All that to say...we didn't learn much from the classes. However, we did meet some great people and we loved our instructor. While a lot of the material seemed really "duh" to us, we realize that it has to be said. They don't know where people are so they need to make sure they are clear.

I included this picture because this was the hardest class for me by far. I was really hoping going into it that we would learn some techniques to cope with kids who have been sexually abused. But sadly it wasn't quite so practical. That is one thing we wished: that the classes could have been more practical on how to actually deal with different situations. However, we did hear some things that have happened to kids that make me want to curl up in a ball, cover my ears, hum to myself, and drown out this evil. It affirmed in me that we are needed. Life with three kids can be crazy and life with more seems hard to imagine, but I'm not called to live a life of happiness and ease. Jesus didn't say, "Hey come to me and I will make your life easy peasy!" But he did say that we will suffer, that we are to weep with those who weep, care for the sick and poor and orphaned, and in the midst of this he calls, "come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) This rest is for our souls and not necessarily for our lives.

 I'm reminded of  John...who survived when they tried to BOIL him to death. When Jesus appeared to him you'd think he would have said, "Hey bud, sorry about that boiling thing. Here's some neosporin." But he didn't, he said, "I have a message for you and you need to make sure people hear it." He gave him MORE work because his work wasn't done. I may feel that life is full and sometimes I can't handle it, but Jesus says, "lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed." (Heb. 12:12-13) We need the spiritual strength it takes to foster and luckily, God is in the business of meeting needs.