Have you ever remembered? What did you remember?

Was it a flood of warmth as you reminisced on Christmas moments with your loved ones? Did you walk down memory lane with a best friend? Did you smile nostalgically at thoughts of school escapades with your classmates?

Or did pain clutch your heart at thoughts of betrayal from someone you trusted? Did an icy wave of shame flood your mind with memories of childhood abuse that you still believe is your fault? Do tears still spring to your eyes when you remember snapshot after snapshot of loneliness, taunting, blame, and emptiness?

Human beings often place little significance on beginnings, but beginnings are everything. They are the foundation of tomorrow and connect us to the finish. If we don’t start off well it can take supernatural strength to keep us in the race. Our memories are often the fuel that drives us forward, or the magnetic force that pulls us downward.  At this very moment memories are being made, and for a myriad of desperate youngsters in the foster care system the memories are going to be painful ones. Many of this children only long for an assurance that they matter to someone and a safe place to call home.  Others just want the pain to stop.

If these children never find that place and that assurance they will reach adulthood with little to motivate them to keep being the best they can possibly be. They could lead aimless lives simply trying to fill the void that an empty childhood created in their hearts; there are many dangers waiting to sabotage them in their search for meaning. 

But you can stop the cycle of pain in a child’s life. You can make a difference by opening your heart and home to either fostering a child, or adopting one.  If you have a flood of painful memories that seep into your heart every day, turn it into a force of good and determine to make inspirational memories for today’s child.  If you have a happy childhood to recall, then multiply the joy for tomorrow’s adult. 

Create a new beginning today and harness the power of memories.