It refreshes me. And I love it.
Except for mornings like this morning.
There are days when the words just don't come, and the creativity is wiped right out of your head.
It's frustrating.
Anyway- I figured I would use this time to sit down and write to you all about something that's been pressing on my heart all month.
Actually, it's something this month is designated for.
November is orphan awareness month.
And boy, do I have a lot to say about that.
I can't believe I'm about to do this. But, I'm about to give you an exert from my book. This is one of my favorite scenes from the whole book.
So, here you are. In this scene, Chrissy, the main character, is asked to help introduce three babies that are being adopted to their parents. As you might be able to tell, this was taken from when we met Sonia the first time in Rwanda.
"I handed her to her father, she looked confused, but her parents were elated. Her mother’s eyes were brimming with tears, watching her husband holding his daughter for the first time. As it had many times already, my heart broke for the children who didn’t have families, who weren’t going to be loved like little Sonia was. I then thought back to Ava, she would one day have a family, who would love her with all of their hearts. Her mother’s eyes would be full of tears, seeing her for the first time, and her father would hold her with comforting arms. She wouldn’t know then that this would be the family to care for her and to love her as long as she lived, but she would someday. She wouldn’t know that I had fallen in love with her and would have given anything to make her mine. Even if she never remembered me, even if I couldn’t be there forever to love and care for her, I could love on her while I was there, knowing that one day, she would have a family too.
Once they had spent about forty-five minutes with the kids, we had to take the children back to their rooms. The fathers held each of their children in their arms. We led them to their rooms and they placed each of their children back in a bed, where they would sleep for one of their last nights there. The children once again had a look of confusion on their faces, wondering why in the world they had to leave these people. Sonia’s father kissed her on the forehead and walked out. Once they had all left and the door was shut, all of their eyes filled with tears as their fathers walked away but I scooped them up and held them close."
Ava is a little girl who doesn't have a family. In this book she represents all of the orphans around the world- all 127 MILLION of them.
These children long to be loved- they long to know the love of a family. Not just children in different countries- but right here in America.
I have been so burdened lately after being in Uganda and seeing all of the orphans again. My thoughts this time have been mainly, "What if they don't ever know the love of the Father? The love of Jesus Christ?"
And it breaks my heart.
It breaks my heart to think that there are going to be children who will never know the love that Christ has shown us. He is Father to the Fatherless- what if they NEVER hear that?
May we not just sit still and think, "What cute children!"
May we be called into ACTION by the words of James 1:27, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
God- wake us up. Move us to action so that these 127 million children can know your love and know the love of a family.
He has called us to so much more than sitting still.
He has called us to GO. To LOVE. To be His hands and feet.
So that every. single. child. on this planet may know the love of the Best Father this world will EVER know.
~Bailey
