Making a Difference

In our culture, it’s so easy to live as if we’re the center of our own little universe. I know, because for a long time, that’s exactly how I lived. My plans, my goals, my comfort—that was what mattered most. Other people’s struggles felt far away, almost invisible.

Then foster care entered my life, and everything changed.

When my family first stepped into foster care, I didn’t fully understand what it would mean. I thought it was just about opening our home. But what it really did was open my eyes. For the first time, I began to see that life wasn’t all about me. There were children—right down the street, not just in distant places—facing situations far harder than anything I had experienced. And suddenly, I had the chance to be a blessing to them.

Through those experiences, God began to work on my heart. He used foster care to chip away at my selfishness and remind me what it means to reflect Him. I thought about how often Jesus, in the Gospels, was described as being “moved with compassion.” About nine different times, Scripture records Him stopping for the broken, the hurting, and the overlooked. He noticed them, cared for them, and met their needs. That truth hit me in a new way, and it became personal. Because of foster care, I chose Jude 22 as my life verse: “And of some have compassion, making a difference.”

If I’ve learned anything, it’s this: the only way to truly make a difference is to step outside of yourself, look around, and live with compassion. Not the kind of compassion that expects something in return, but the kind that mirrors Jesus—the kind that simply loves because people matter.

Foster care reminded me that there is so much more to life than just myself. And honestly, that realization has been one of the greatest gifts.