One night a lovely lady turned to her husband and said,

“Lewis, wouldn’t it be nice to foster a child again?
I’ve been getting kinda lonely, just you, the dogs and me.

We’ve done it once before, let’s take another under our wing.”

Her husband had no argument and very soon,

the couple got a call that a little boy needed a room.
She drove to meet the boy she would bring into her home.

What she was getting into, ‘Oh, how could she have known!’

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When meeting his family, something caught her eye,

one girl would laugh hysterically and then begin to cry.

The eldest of the family came over to say, “Hi!”
She was taken aback by what she saw in the girl’s eyes.

The eyes belonged to one much older than her age.

Within those hazel-gray eyes, pain and sadness raged.

She looked at them and said, “I’ll give it a whirl”.
And to home she took, the boy and two girls.

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The first night that they stayed, it is hard to describe,
but the couple were relieved when the children said, “Goodnight!”

And as the lady’s niece was leaving out the door,
she turned to her and said, “Aunt Sheila, are you sure?”

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The next few months were rocky though the couple really tried.
The middle child often woke up in the night and cried and cried.
Consoled she would not be and they feared “goodbye”
to an institution she would be sent and there she would spend her life.

However, that was not to be, with prayers and patience, the couple persevered

And soon laughter replaced the tears.

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The youngest child was wild, as wild as can be,
as he ran through the house with endless energy.
Breaking everything in his path, nothing safe from his wrath,

but the couple’s love remained steadfast.
They worked with him endlessly, teaching him right from wrong.

The young boy went from wild to calm.

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The oldest, living mostly in her dreams,
had a tendency to .. well... SCREAM!
Lost in a world of her own she would stay,
and whispering in the night, you could hear her say,

“I want to go home and not be here,

because a life lived in fear, is better than something new and unclear.”

But she soon came to realize that her past life was a lie
and she had to move forward and risk giving life a try.
With the help of the couple she soon learned to trust.

And, especially, learned that honesty is a must.
She came out of the darkness, the abuse and fear,
in which, she spent so many young years.
And as she did, her foster parents held her and dried her tears.

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Now here we are, almost three years later, in that happy home,

and the children want the name of ‘Havens” and that alone.

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The youngest, an artist, drawing stars, stripes and prisms.
And he’s doing well in school despite his Autism.
The middle child, a violinist, and oh how you should hear her play.

She plays “Amazing Grace” in the most beautiful way.
The oldest child a writer, writing stories, poetry and drama.
She is now proud to call her foster-parents “Daddy and Momma”.

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The three have grown in stature, body and mind.
And I assure they are doing better than just fine.
They have found their place, in school they make straight A’s

All this happen all because of the love one couple gave.

I can attest that this story is true Because I am the one it happened too.

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Sincerely, Rose