...because of resiliency

i dont' have any kids right now.  in fact, i don't even know if i will give birth to any kids, ever. but what i do know is that i plan to foster and/or adopt children.youth.adolescents.teenagers. people that are already in this world. and of course i don't fully understand the time and responsibility commitment it takes to raise a child-because i have yet to do it-  but i know that it matters. i know that it works.i'm not telling you this so that i can get a round of applause.  i am sharing this with you so that you might consider it too.  because i think the world needs kids who believe in themselves.  kids who believe that they can do anything they set their mind to. and i think the world needs people who will tell them they can. i have spent a lot of time with children and youth who are in foster care, children whose parents' rights have been terminated, and children who will go back to parents that abuse and neglect them.  and i have worked with adults who didn't have a childhood or loving parents in their lives. i've worked with adults who were physically, sexually, and emotionally abused as a child, that are still trying to overcome their past. and  i also know plenty of babies and toddlers that were born into wonderful homes with caring parents.  from my experience, it seems that their lives often play out in very different ways. i'll never know what it is like to endure such trauma and abuse as a child, and i can't fully understand the way it impacts their lives every single day after that, but i know there is hope.  because i have seen what love can do.  and i fully, whole-heartedly believe in it.  in the saddest and most challenging of situations, i have seen love transform shy. troubled. misunderstood. depressed. uncomfortable kids into giggling, confident, and carefree youth. i have seen what a structured home can do.  i have witnessed the impact of stability and continuous love. and i can tell you that it is a beautiful thing, but of course you probably already know that.  these thoughts are heavy on my heart tonight because i am remembering two different little girls who happen to be the same person.one little girl who could have went a million different ways.  and i'm thinking about several adult women and wondering who they'd be today if their childhood wasn't haunting them still. i'm just sitting here wondering if they would have became that nurse, lawyer, or teacher had they been raised in a different home.  and i'm sitting here thinking of that teenager who is doing amazing things because of the home her foster parents have provided her. i have no intentions of saying anything negative about the parents who raised them because i understand that life is hard.  that situations are always more complicated and layered than they appear.  and because to be honest, i don't really know any of their stories. and i am not making excuses for them either.  all that i am saying is that the world is full of children who need to be loved unconditionally.  and all i am saying is that i want to be a person who does that.  and if you have it in your heart, i want you to be that person too.    

i spent my night with a person who has a special place in my life, who always reminds me of what love can do. and i don't think thank you will ever be enough.