Does Age Determine A Child's Worth?

What do all these people have in common? Age didn't matter. Whether young or old, they were able to live their dreams. Ask yourself does age indicate your worth? Does age dictate what you will accomplish in your lifetime? Whether you are 9 or 79, there are no limits to what you can accomplish. If you believe in yourself, you can do anything. Right?

Jason O’Neill (9) started his own business called Pencil Bugs, selling hand-made bug-like pencil toppers.

Asya Gonzalez (13) launched Stinky Feet Gurlz, a company that designs, markets and sells 1940s-inspired t-shirts and apparel. Her company also donates a portion of every shirt sold to She's Worth It!, a nonprofit organization she founded, dedicated to ending human trafficking and child sex slavery.

Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't publish her first novel (Little House on the Prarie series) until she was 65 years old.

Japanese dancer and choreographer Kazuo Ohno did not undertake formal dance lessons until his late twenties and was 43 years old when he performed his first recital at Kanda Kyoritsu Hall in Tokyo in 1949.

Sab Koide, 85, of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., began running at the age of 56. Since then he’s completed 60 marathons.

For children left behind in orphanages and institutions, each year that passes is a reminder that the chance of adoption diminishes as they grow older. All that promise, all that is to be discovered together as a family starts to fade as a child grows older. We overlook the sweet smile of an older child who wants to be part of a family. A child who can discover a new lifetime of experiences with the right family. A family that believes in the child. These children just want to be part of a family. One wish. One dream.

I am asking you to believe in Laurel, a sweet 15 year old girl that has until August to find a family or she will be turned onto the streets. Laurel has arthrogryposis like my son Owen. She is in a wheelchair and will benefit from therapy and proper medical care. Large families and older parents are allowed to adopt in her country. How amazing for Laurel to be a part of a large loving family? If you cannot adopt, please donate to her Reece's Rainbow account. The more money she has in the account, the easier it will for her family to commit to her.

What will Laurel's family help her accomplish? What can love and support do for Laurel? So many dreams and hopes will be realized with one donation, one share via social media, one mention to a friend that may be considering adopting.

Please join me in helping Laurel find her forever family. Share. Donate. Bring Hope.