How To Keep Your Sanity

by Kay Heitsch

Several years ago, our family welcomed foster children into our home. All in all, we had 11 children.

There were times when we had 7 children in our house at once. We had a newborn baby to teenagers. I don't need to go into all that this entails, but I'm sure most of you understand this is a lot of work.

I was raised as an only child. Having to deal with my own children was one thing but dealing with several at the same time was another. I had not experienced having siblings, so I didn't understand from a personal level how this interaction worked.

Having foster children, you are not only dealing with the children and their issues; you have their families and, of course, the social services. This can be a lot of stress at times.

One thing I learned that I would like to share is that I took time for myself. I had no time when the children were up, but I got up around 4:00 AM when everyone was still sleeping to spend time alone with the Lord. I read my Bible and prayed. I knew good and well that I was in way over my head, and I needed all the help I could get.

It was during this time I read this quote from Martin Luther. “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Now I didn't spend three hours in prayer, but I did learn from this quote.

If you have a lot to do and you want to keep your sanity, it's best to receive all the help you can get! I found spending quiet time reading and praying helped me to do just that.