I’m not really a kid person. I never have been. Even when I was a kid myself I wasn’t really good at the reckless joy stuff. I didn’t watch cartoons, I was always told I was a 40 year-old in a seven-year-old body, and as an only child, spent more time with adults than I did with my peers. As a Christian woman, admitting this gets me into trouble. Aren’t all female Christ followers supposed to dream of the days when kids will come popping out of our wombs in magical wonder and give us reason to FINALLY bake all those cookies and scrapbook?Lest you misunderstand, I don’t hate kids. In fact, I think they’re pretty cool. And as I grow older their cool factor only goes up. A good friend of mine is a nanny par-excellence. She spends her days putting on capes and princess dresses and running around the house in an imaginary world playing make-believe with the funnest four-year-old on the planet. And she loves every minute of it. It gives her life. Because there’s something about four-year-olds that force you to have fun, to dream, to trust…to feel. I don’t hate kids by any means. I just don’t think I ever was one at heart. But the older I get, the more I long to be one…to live in wonder and excitement at everything that is new.
The kids in Kenya amazed me. Most of our time was spent loving on these orphans…about 200 of them. Two hundred children with no parents because they had died of AIDS. Ages 3 – 13, they lived together in a new family in the village, with 23 brothers and sisters and two staff parents. And they had such joy. I remember being utterly overwhelmed the first day we arrived as we walked in on their devotion time. Every night at six o’clock they gathered together in a tiny gazebo to worship God. And we would walk in, expecting to teach them something about Christ, and they would be literally shouting at the top of their lungs, seven-year-olds banging on their drums, dancing up and down, leading each other in songs of praise. Their God was mighty and faithful…far from quiet and meek. He was powerful and worthy of their best worship. After singing, kids would stand up one by one and give testimony to their God. it would go something like this:
Kid: “Praise the Lord!”
Group: “Amen!”
Kid: “Praise the Lord again!”
Group: “Amen!”
Kid: “My name is ______ and I have a testimony. I came here and I didn’t have any parents and I had no food to eat and no clothes to wear. But GOD has given me good parents and shoes to wear and food to eat. I am so thankful.”
Child after child would rise and praise Him. Some would stand and rattle off memory verses like they were written on their souls. Soon I realized what an incredible privilege it was to just be among these little saints, to learn from their faith and love for each other. Sure, I held them in my arms and loved them as best I could. But if I am completely honest, I often felt like they were holding me.
Jesus had some pretty astounding things to say about kids, and James had this to say about orphans: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27). It’s true, orphans and widows bear a burden of distress unlike any that most of us will ever know. But after spending time with these kids who had met their Father, I realized that orphans can bear a lot of joy too. I find it interesting that James pairs this description of Christianity with the warning against being stained by the world. It seems the more the worries and responsibilities of this life stain and tarnish my soul, the farther I am from the wonder and joy that children have.
“At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” – Matthew 11:25
“And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3
Remember these orphans. Remember Jela and Kevin and Mercy. Pray for them. Send them clothes and support through Empowering Lives International. Remember their distress and their troubles. But let’s also remember their joy in the face of want, their gratitude, their worship, their trust, their giggles…and their love. It’s ones like these that Jesus draws unto himself and ushers into the Kingdom of the Father.
Recent Comments