In this video, meet Emily Grace Thompson, a 24-year-old woman who calls a small town just outside Jackson, Mississippi, home. By day, she works at a local nonprofit dedicated to helping foster children—an organization that she believes is her true calling. But Emily’s journey to this place of purpose has been anything but simple. Her path is one shaped by years of abandonment, loneliness, and the deep, gnawing feeling of never quite fitting in.

Emily’s story began with being left behind. Born into a world that seemed to decide she wasn’t worth keeping, she was raised without the touch of a mother’s love. Her biological mother, young and overwhelmed, couldn’t care for a child she wasn’t ready to raise. Emily doesn’t remember her mother’s face or voice, but the absence of that foundational bond is something that still shapes her. From the very beginning, she learned what it was to feel unwanted and unloved— feelings that would follow her through the years.

But despite everything, Emily found strength in her struggles. Join her as she shares her story of resilience, finding purpose, and ultimately, discovering a family she never expected.