Children

Children

I like parties. I like having fun. My gifts of entertaining and encouraging have often come in handy when hosting others.

I have a desire to love children and show them through my actions and inactions that they are loved, I am proud of them, and they are children of God. I never want a child to think that they are worthless and unlovable. Few things break my heart more than a child who feels helpless, hopeless, and unwanted.

Much of my life has been spent working alongside children – a Sunday school teacher, a camp counselor, working in pediatric rehabilitation, and now working in the acute pediatric ward. I love kids.

This weekend I had a “Fall Festival” for the local kids. Its purpose was twofold, to honor and love on the children, and to satisfy my love of Autumn in America. The kids made a beautiful deciduous tree that now sheds leaves daily on my living room floor, a splattering of yellow, orange, and red randomly strewn about. They stuffed scarecrows, a male and female pot-bellied pair that ordained my lawn. They laughed and cheered as they joined in the relay races, and even Aligonilia, a child who has escaped death numerous times, joined in and laughed raucously. What an indescribable joy to see a child barely alive one week, me desperately crying out to God for his return to life, and now witnessing him running around and laughing like a healthy child, even though he is far from “healthy”. Amazing.

It was a great day, and I am so very thankful for God’s abundant provision. I hope these children felt how much we, the World Harvest Mission team, love and appreciate them. For at least one afternoon, they were lifted high and revered.

I often think of myself as a child, longing to run into God’s lap. When I am most desperate and fall into fits of despair, God reminds me of His love, how proud of me He is, and how much He longs to welcome me home.