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Preaching to the choir
Sometimes I feel like I am saying the same thing over and over again about orphans, but my heart just hurts for them. I just saw a figure that said every 18 seconds a child becomes an orphan. It’s tragic. It’s sad. It’s unbelievable. It’s overwhelming. I know that my friends and family who read this blog know and understand where I am coming from. I apologize for the repetition, for preaching to the choir so to speak. I try to use my blog to inform people, to show God’s glory and to journal what I am thinking. This blog has become a place for me to store information that I want others to know and information that I may want to retrieve later.
I have been reading tons lately about the plight of orphans around the world. I have read comments from people who stated maybe God closed the adoption of orphans from Russia so that we would pay more attention to the children who need to be adopted here in the U.S. These are stats from a friend of mine “Well, a quick Google search told me that at one estimate there are ~104,000 adoptable children in foster care in the US. Another Google search just as quickly told me there are ~374,000 Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox congregations in the US. It certainly doesn’t take a math genius to see that US Christians could very easily take care of every single adoptable child in the US even if not every congregation chose to participate.” Yes, we need to care for those children who need to be adopted and fostered here in the U.S., but I don’t believe it is an either or thing in regard to adoption. I absolutely don’t believe it is a God thing. I believe it is a political thing. I believe it is an evil thing! I believe it is most assuredly a Satan thing! But the wonderful news is that God can use this horrible thing for good. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…. God can show people what is really going on. As this gets more and more press, it brings to light what it is really like for orphans around the world. Newspapers all around the world are carrying this story. Just like with the horrible fire in the Henan Province in China, as more and more gets brought to light and it convicts people’s hearts, maybe things will change. I pray that good will come out of these horrible things.
I truly believe God doesn’t want us to only care for those in our country. John 3:16 states “For God so loved the world…” or Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world….” Verse after verse talks about His love for the world and He clearly states how he feels about us helping those in need.
I was talking to my daughter, Cassie, about this. She came back later and said “What if God had only decided to save His chosen people? What if God had said, ‘I will save Israel, but the rest of you can deal with things on your own.’ Where would we be then mom?” But that isn’t what God did. John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. We can not keep our eyes on our own little corner of the world. We can not pretend these atrocities aren’t happening.
Orphanages in Romania have children that are hidden away, in concentration camp like settings, starving to death. This isn’t an exaggeration. You can go to the “No Greater Joy Mom” blog and read more about it. If you don’t take time to read the blog, at least scroll down and look at the pictures. ( if-not-us-then-who.html .) Unfortunately, there are many blogs, just like hers, that show what is going on. Her family is adopting a little girl, Hasya, who is 14 and weighs under 25 pounds. How is that even possible? I have a very skinny 4 year old who weighs 26 pounds. I can not imagine that weight on a 14 year old. I hear about how many children die in orphanages as infants. I feel overwhelmed and unable to help but I know that is not the truth. God wants us to speak up. We can’t be quiet any longer. We can’t pretend because it is happening some where else that it doesn’t matter. We can’t keep closing our eyes and our ears to the truth. We have to take a stand. We have to start some where, one child sponsored, one family supported, one more story shared so others can know the truth. James 1:27 says Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…. That is pretty clear. The fact that there are over 147 million orphans in the world means we have failed as Christians. How did this happen under our watch?
We Americans believe everyone in the world has the same appreciation and respect for life that most of us have. That is not the truth. In Russia a family had to fight to adopt their son, who had Down Syndrome, through the Russian Supreme Court, because the Judge ruled he was unworthy of a family. There is story after story of children who were deemed unadoptable by orphanages or unworthy of a family. We should be fighting for these souls who can not speak for themselves. Proverbs 31:18 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”
I recently watched a video on Vimeo entitled “I Like Adoption”. It’s a wonderful story about a family that sees the worth in every child. Here is a quote from that video: “It took me decades to figure this out. There’s no physical thing that you can buy that’s actually going to give you true peace and happiness. The pure joy that will come from a rescue and a ransom of a child’s life is probably the most satisfying thing you can imagine.” – Dennehey
It’s true. Material things fade, break, go out of style and are forgotten. But a child’s life is an amazing thing. With love and care and encouragement, who knows where their lives will go. Who knows whose life they will touch. Don’t close your eyes. Don’t pretend it isn’t happening. Tell their stories for them. Demand that things change. Stand up for a child in need. Spread the word. Don’t be afraid to take that step that will change a child’s life forever. “One smile, can start a friendship. One word, can end a fight. One candle, can stop the dark. One person, can change a life.” – unknown
