So, I was just thinking about being a foster kid: The stigmas, worries, and all the anxiety that comes with the title. And I had to ask myself: What would happen if every foster kid (All 513,000+ of us) decided that they would not be bound by their traumatic pasts, but focus on their present skills and talents? And also embrace their amazing futures? In other words, what if all foster kids lived their lives as if they had nothing to lose? Nothing to hold them back? Nothing to hinder them? I wonder...

At the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) conference, Rev. Otis Moss III preached a fantastic sermon on having nothing to lose. His sermon came from Jeremiah 7 (I think but don't quote me on that). It focused on the story of the 4 lepers who were outside the gate to their city and they realized that if they stayed at the gate, they would die. Since their was a famine in the land, they would die of starvation if they went home. And if they went into the enemy's camp, it was a possibility that they would die as well. In the end, they came to the conclusion that they had nothing to lose in any scenario, (because the consequence of death was the likely outcome for all decisions made). So the lepers decided to leave and go into the enemy's camp. As they approached, God made it sound as if an army was approaching and the enemy fled the camp. The lepers found the camp empty and partook in the food, gold, and other fine linens that was left behind. They decided that they could not keep all of the goods for themselves, so they made the decision to take some back to their people.

I like the attitudes of the lepers in this story. They remind me of foster kids in many ways, believe it or not. Lepers were social outcasts. The general stigmas afforded to foster kids creates that label as well.(i.e Foster kids are criminals, etc.) And lepers were often judged by others based on circumstances that they could not control (i.e having the disease Leprosy). Foster kids clearly know what it feels like to be made fun of or judged because of being in foster care, even though it was never our fault to begin with!

But the thing about these lepers that I liked is that they realized that they had nothing to lose, so they got up and moved! Just as simple as that! They made a decision that they would not be bound by their circumstances. They got up and went into the enemy's camp.

This is a dangerous mentality to have! When a person realizes that they have nothing to lose, ANYTHING becomes possible! And when YOU put YOURSELF in a position of possibility, there is literally nothing that can stop YOU!

So again, what would happen if every foster kid decided that they were going to get up and move forward with their lives by embracing their talents and skills and using them to the best of their abilities?

Remember that the lepers in this story didn't just keep all of the goods for themselves. They decided to share their goods with their people because they understood the value of helping others who still were in need. SO...this got me thinking again...Once foster kids start living their lives with endless possibilities, it is important that we all give back to some else who still needs assistance because we all know what it feels like to need help from someone else!

So, what would happen if foster kids lived as if they had nothing to lose? Well, I think that we could very well CHANGE THE WORLD! (LITERALLY)

In other news, CDF was fantastic! It helped me to grow spiritually, as well as increased my desire to help all children in need! By far, it was the best conference for personal development that I have been to as an AllStar!