When my daughter asked me what she could do to help kids impacted by foster care, I wasn’t sure what to say. Her allowance doesn’t go far, and she won’t get her driver’s license for another 8 years. How could she possibly make a difference now? Still, she kept insisting. I could see that her heart for this was even bigger than my own, so I began to do some digging.  

Within a week, we had found an opportunity to participate in blessing a family who had just been reunited in the aftermath of foster care. They needed a dining table and a dresser, so my daughter and I went thrifting. We found the perfect items and delivered them the next day. Meeting the family and seeing their dining room put together, with the potential for many meaningful moments around dinner, homework, and family games, was a significant experience for both of us.  

Along the way, I discovered the immense value of families working together to serve the vulnerable. It’s true that we can help to transform the lives of others in many ways, but in the process, our own lives are transformed as well. Caring for others is a value I want my daughter to have, not just through my example, but through hands-on practice of her own.  

As her parent, I have a responsibility to disciple my daughter and steward her heart for helping others. I didn’t realize how she would also disciple me toward serving others in new ways. Her desire and heartfelt urgency helped push me beyond my comfort zone into a beautiful life of open-handedness. 

- Anika Ojeda, Hephzibah62:4 Administrative Assistant