Have you ever heard the Starfish Story? I wish I knew who wrote the parable, I would love to give them credit for the impact they’ve had on my life. Its a simple story but meaningful. There’s a few different versions, but here is my favorite.

An old man was walking along the shoreline one morning and off in the distance he saw what he thought was a woman dancing. As he drew closer, he realized that the young woman was actually scooping starfish off of the beach and gently tossing them back into the ocean. He approached her and asked why. She smiled and replied “The sun is coming up and the tide will wash out. The Starfish that remain on the sand will die so I am putting them back in the water!” The old man scoffed, “there’s miles of sand and thousands of Starfish! You can’t make any difference!” The young woman smiled politely, then bent to pick up another Starfish and gently tossed it into the surf. Grinning back at the old man she said “It made a difference to that one!”

One of the hardest realities in my full-time job at the medical center is that we see a lot of abuse cases. I’ve always felt called to foster and to adopt but as a single 31 yr old woman, it felt like I wasn’t enough. I know plenty of people do it, I know it’s possible to be a single foster parent but some part of me wondered if I would be enough. Wouldn’t it be better to have a father figure than just a mother who works so much? STUPID. Excuses. That’s what I used to reason myself out of a calling until a later time.

With Covid-19 forcing our nation into Shelter In Place orders, the number of abuse cases we see has raised exponentially. Its gotten to a scary level and it makes those of us who work in Health Care feel incredibly helpless. But there IS something I can do. I can foster, I can take in a child and give them a safe place. I just have to say ‘yes’. And when you look at the numbers, it is a struggle not to think “what difference can I make” but then I think of the Starfish Story. For every child that I welcome into my home, I can make a difference.

You know what happens when you stop arguing with God and start saying yes? Sometimes… He paves the way. I thought the process would be long, hard, and discouraging. I was prepared to start and be frustrated within the first day.

Day one: asked a support group with my church for recommendations for agencies to work with (a requirement in my county). One of the ladies responded with three great agencies and extra tips along with a welcome to ask her any questions that come up as she used to work for one of the agencies herself.

Day two: requested information from two of the agencies. I heard back within an hour and had a meeting set up for the next day via Zoom since we are unable to meet in person.

Day three: I had a long meeting that was incredibly informative about the agency and what to expect. I had already begun to set up a spare room for a small child and cleaning out more space in case I ended up with two so motivation was still strong.

Day four: first thing in the morning I had a call from a recruiter and by the end of the day I had the application along with the next month’s class schedule for everything I have to complete before I can have a homestudy.

In theory, this means I could have all of my classes completed before June. I expected to have a couple classes over a few months and then a lengthy application process. Don’t get me wrong, the application is still 48 pages of information but the process of filling it out is fairly straight-forward. I’ll be spending a lot of time getting it all finished but I am still oddly encouraged by how much I can get done while stuck at home. Don’t worry, I won’t be posting every single detail but I do hope that my story and process can help others to feel more like the woman dancing and less like the old man. Because really, it doesn’t matter what your mission or move for change is… as long as you are making a difference to something and someone…even if that someone is yourself.