Note: Pictures are from Jeanna.
This is a 2 year old girl. She cannot walk. Notice the tiny limbs and distended stomach of a malnourished child.
This beautiful child just wanted to be held all afternoon. Just held and hugged and loved. That's all she wanted. She lives in a child-headed home.
They get one complete meal at the Family Center every day.
A future nurse??
A future surfer??
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.” Psalm 22:14-15
A mom will never see the fifth birthday of her son. A child will never feel the loving arms of their parent in a protective embrace again. A child will never walk. A child will never live to see his fourth birthday.
There is a girl who just wants to be held in a protective, loving embrace. She does not ask for sweets or toys, just your arms holding her tight. She looks up to you with the smile of innocence and joy. Her 13 yr old sister comes to pick her up and her 4 siblings to take them to a home without a mom and dad.
A two year old sits alone on the floor unable to walk. He smiles with joy as you tickle him revealing that all his baby teeth have come in. But yet he can’t walk. His limbs are the size of two of my fingers but his tummy is distended and firm. He cries when you put him down.
A 32 year old mom lies in bed fighting for her life. Her left arm is disabled from shingles. She cringes in pain as you touch her feet. She barely has the strength to lift a cup of fluids to her lips. Her blood pressure is extremely low. Rehydrating fluids just are not enough. Giving someone their medications just isn’t enough. Massaging her legs just isn’t enough. Holding a child all afternoon just isn’t enough. There is no cure to their physical sickness. I am not enough. I can’t fix the problem.
A people who have been beaten down and abused for centuries now have a new enemy, HIV. And it is murdering them mercilessly. Families are being broken up. What can be done?
I want to be numb. I just don’t want to feel anymore. There is so much pain and suffering. How do I come to terms with it? Why, God? Why? I have cried until I feel like I can cry no more but the sadness does not go away. My heart aches. How do I live with this knowledge?
Why? Why, God? Why do you allow such suffering and pain? Will they know your comfort? Will they know your joy greater than their suffering? What do I do with this knowledge? How do I mend this brokenness? Will this pain go away?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:3-5
Brokenness brings a dependence on God. Recognizing that you are not enough brings a dependence on the One who is enough. Realizing you don’t have the answer brings a dependence on the One who is Sovereign for answers. Being emptied leaves you aching to be filled by the One who satisfies.
I am not enough but there is One who is. Jesus Christ gives hope. Hope of a day will their will be no more tears, mourning, or pain. A day where death will be no more. The evidence of sin is so much more pungent here. There is an urgency to share the good news of Jesus Christ’s salvation for all. No medicine or treatment will cure the disease innate in all of us. Sin is like HIV, like cancer. The only cure is Jesus Christ.
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’“ Revelations 21:3-5
No comments:
Post a Comment