All the Children of the World

This is a guest post from my friend Beth.  Beth has been around the world several times and yet can make anyone feel like they’re the most important one to her.  When we worked together, the highlight of many days was taking a seat in her office and seeing her bright eyes turn my way with expectation. She wrote this as a Christmas letter and I liked it so much, I asked if I could post it.  I’m sure you’ll find it’s no ‘our cat’s doing great’ Christmas note.  If you’re just skimming, skim on down to the Ultimate One section below before you leave so soon.

This week, God has brought to my distracted heart several stories and tied them all together. In an effort to process and hear what He has to say to me, I am jotting down the stories, along with some reflections. I still have more to hear and learn, but I share with you the journey so far.

The Unwanted One

Earlier this week, we received a prayer request from an Indian friend of ours, who runs an orphanage for children in the city of Hyderabad. He wrote that a woman who has recently become a Christian came to him because one of her neighbor families just had their 4^th child—their 3^rd girl…….and they were planning to kill her. She is 1 month old. While I have known that the practice of female infanticide is still too common in India, this story made the issue—the horror—so real to me. I pictured my beautiful 9-month old niece, when she was 1 month, and remembered how small, and defenseless and precious she was (and still is!). I struggled under the weight—the injustice—of this until we heard that her young life was spared, at least for the short-term. But the questions remain. What lies of Satan could make this family want to put to death one so precious, created of their own flesh and blood? What could we do to help ensure that this baby girl would get to continue living the life God gave her? And what should we be doing to help save the lives of millions of other little ones, both in our country and around the world?

The Struggling One

At the same time, half a world away, another child is fighting for his life, in a very different way. He was born with a hole in his heart, among other problems. He will need to have a series of heart surgeries, the first of which was scheduled for earlier this week. But that surgery was delayed, as it became clear that there was a good possibility that he would not survive it. The problem is, he won’t survive without it. The surgery was finally performed yesterday, and this tiny fighter made it through. He faces a very long, uphill battle full of danger, as he and his family continue to fight for his life. But this little one, with all the odds against him, has a multitude of people praying for his safety and a family who will do anything to protect him …

The Protected One

Today is my nephew’s 6^th birthday. He is beautiful, loving, and full of life. But 6 years ago today, he almost died. His birth mother was a young woman whose life was full of men and alcohol and tobacco. Before realizing she was pregnant, she filled her body with harmful things. When she and her family found out she was pregnant, her father demanded that she have an abortion. She refused and ran away to live with her grandfather. When it was time for the delivery, she had to have an emergency c-section. He was born with his intestines outside of his body. He was immediately taken into surgery to repair the problem. If, however, he had been delivered naturally, he would have died during the birthing process. Sometimes I look at him, and think, “what if…” But God chose to protect him against all the “what ifs” in his early life. I believe that God spared his life because He has great plans for this young one who is from a culture that knows so little about the living God. But in the meantime, He has tumbled him into our lives, bringing so much love and joy.

The Rescued One

This weekend, we will go to a celebration. Friends of ours had the opportunity to live and work in India for a year. They are both of Indian descent, so were excited about learning and experiencing more about their culture. We had been praying for them before they left, because they were unable to get pregnant. While in India, they began to get involved in a local ministry and an orphanage. The wife spent much of her time in the orphanage, caring for and loving those children. During their time there, they learned about a woman who was pregnant and unable to keep her child. As they prayed about it, they felt led to take in this little one when he was born, and begin steps toward adopting him. As soon as he was born, he came to live with them; they named him and cared for him, growing to love him dearly. But their time in India was coming to an end before the adoption process was finalized. So they made plans to have him cared for until they could go back and bring him home as their son.

The Surprising One

It was during this time, as they were preparing to leave India, that they found out they were pregnant! They returned home and 9 months later, their son was born. All that time, they continued to doggedly pursue the adoption, despite many road-blocks. When their young son was old enough, mom and baby returned to India to bond with him and finish the final steps of his adoption. Tomorrow, we are going to a party to celebrate and welcome him. This family’s story so clearly points me to the faithfulness of God, and His abundant loving care for His children. This family stands amazed at the richness of their lives now, as they look back to just one year ago.

The Ultimate ONE

All of these stories are pointing me to another one. During this season, we can’t help but think of another child, can we? This one, too, came into the world helpless, unable to care for himself, in need of protection and love, conceived by an unwed mother. And his young life was threatened by those in his culture. He was both the natural child and the adopted child of his parents.

Why did God choose to send him in this way? He surely could have dropped him down into time on earth. Did he really need to come as a child, a helpless babe, in need of everything? Although I don’t have a complete answer, it makes me realize the special love, understanding and care He must have for His little ones. He watched and suffered when His son—His baby—was hungry or in danger or sick or cold. I think as His image-bearers, we need to take special care of the little ones God puts in our lives. We are called to care for the “least of these”, whether they are our flesh and blood or not. And while I don’t fully understand why our Savior and King came to earth as a baby, I do know why he was sent—so that we, no matter what our start in life, could become full, everlasting, dearly-loved sons and daughters of the God most high. No longer are we vulnerable children or orphans, but rather heirs (heart of mine, do you grasp that??) of our Almighty Father, with all the confidence, power and privileges that brings.

“But when the time had fully come, God sent His son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive adoption as sons….Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through the gracious act of God.” (Gal 4:4,5,7)

Related posts:

1. LinkO-the Peace that’s Out of this World Version Well, this week my world has felt a little upside...
2. The Most Beautiful People in the World Well, we’re more than halfway through this week’s series...
3. Mr. Miyagi Taught Me All I Need to Know Movies aren’t what they used to be.   I miss Mr....
4. Not Without My Mommy In the last few weeks, my son has decided to...
5. Just Five More Minutes I can’t tell you how often I try to tell...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.