My Heart for Orphans

12 September 2010

Today Pastor Sean preached a message on orphans.  I am not the crying, emotional type of woman.  Yet today I fought back tears the entire time.  James 1: 19-27 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world. “ I believe we have a responsibility and calling to orphans.  What stood out to me was when Pastor Sean stated, “God clearly has a heart for orphans.  Why shouldn’t we?”

 Ps. 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. 

I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to be forsaken by my own father or mother.  What a horrible feeling children all over the world face as they learn they have no parents and no family to care for them.  I can’t imagine not having a clean bed to sleep in, or food to eat.

I have had a burden to adopt since I was a child.  I was always the kid who found every stray animal in the neighborhood and cared for them myself or found them a new home.  As a teenager, my heart always went out to the bus children I worked with at church who were usually dirty and reeked of cigarette smoke, their bellies growling until snack time when I’d give them twice as many goldfish as the wealthy children.   Over the years this burden has increased, even after having 3 of my own biological children. 

This past Christmas when our 3 girls opened an abundance of presents I teared up again as I thought about children all over the world who are cold and hungry and were not going to open even one present of their own.  We have done Operation Christmas Child the last several years, but somehow I feel I need to do more.

As Pastor preached and the orphan video was playing, the tears came back.  Few things make me weep.  Orphans have always had a special place in my heart.  My prayer is that God would speak to us clearly.  At this present date, Tim has not expressed any desire or burden to adopt.  So my prayer is that God with either change my heart or give Tim a deep desire to open up our home.  This is not something I want to convince Tim to do as I am well aware that he would do almost anything if he truly thought it would make me happy.  This is a huge decision that I want God to place upon both of our hearts.  If it is not God’s call to adopt, the desire of my heart is for God to show us clearly our part in the adoption world-wide ministry.