She Surrendered to God Part 4

By Kay Heitsch

She Surrendered to God. Part 4

One Saturday before Christmas, I sat near the front of the church, taking photos of Ricky and Danyelle as each performed a piano solo in the annual children's program. Later, I gave each a photo album. The albums soon filled with photos marking various achievements and memories we made together.

In February 1990 (just so happened it was Feb. 6th), I received a call telling me that Ricky and Danyelle had not been in school for several days. I later learned that their mother had suddenly moved away with them. As the days and weeks passed, I was not sure I would ever see or hear from them again.

At first, I did not "wait on the Lord." I tried to take matters into my own hands, with no positive results. Finally, I turned the situation over to the Lord. Kneeling, I thanked God for the time I had been given with Ricky and Danyelle and prayed that, if it be His will, the children would return. But if they did not return, I would accept it as His will.

Eight long months passed!

Finally, I received a phone call from their mother. She began by apologizing for not sending the letters the kids had written to me. But there was more to her call than just an apology. She asked if Ricky and Danyelle could stay with us for an extended time.

That night over dinner, I told our family about the call: "Ricky and Danyelle need a place to live. How would you feel about them moving in with us? Without hesitation, they all applauded the idea.

That is how, on October 18, 1990, one day after we became foster parents, Ricky and Danyelle moved into our four-bedroom house. With them came their two teenage sisters, Tina and Nikki.

Incidentally, Nikki was pregnant. Two weeks later, I was able to be in the labor room with Nikki when she gave birth to a baby boy. We now have a total of 5 foster children.

For the next month, our household was hectic with seven children. While washing 12 loads of laundry a day, I found myself jokingly asking the Lord if perhaps He had made a mistake. But deep down, I knew there was no mistake because of the inner peace I had.

Later, the older girls and the baby were taken in with some relatives.

Then another foster child, Brock, came to spend the night and stayed for six months.

All in all, we have opened our home and hearts to nine children. Each child who has walked through our door has given our family and me the opportunity to express Christ's love.

One May, we loaded our two kids and three foster children into our family van and headed north to Michigan, where Todd is buried. I fought back tears as I watched the kids lovingly plant flowers around Todd's headstone. I was sure Todd would be pleased.

By surrendering myself to God, I have managed to turn a terrible loss into a terrific gain, a tragedy into a triumph.