Broken for the Broken...It's God's Way

Sometimes you feel like saying, "You kids should go play in the rain."  


This statement never fails to amaze.


Is she the coolest mom ever....or is she about to have a nervous breakdown?


Either way, they hurry outside before you change your mind.


After Peter came in from the rain he watched Mary out the window, catching her favorite thing. Butterflies.


"Isn't she so cute, Mommy? You're a good mom, Mommy. You're raising some really nice kids."


It never fails. God's grace pours down on me when I'm busted and worn. Tattered and torn.


Late last night Husband began work on a broken toilet. He accidentally turned a valve the wrong way and water--a whole lot of it--exploded everywhere, flooding the bathroom and seeping into the hallway from underneath a wall.


It wasn't pretty.


And it wasn't the only thing wrong with our lives....but it was the last straw for my nerves. 


I cried like a baby from the stress of it all, wondering why God hated us so much. Yes, self-pity looks like that. Ugly. 


Around here lately, one thing after another goes wrong with the cars, the house, the children.


When my head threatens to explode, I only have to see Divya's picture taped to the cupboard. She keeps me grounded. My first-world greed shames me as I gaze upon her lovely face. Her dirt-floored, thatched-roof brick house reminds me to give thanks and pray.


I'm allowed to have three Compassion correspondent children. I have one, to whom I write weekly with the greatest pleasure. 


As most involved with Compassion would say........I love her like my own. 


We all do. The children pray for her at every meal, that she would have a belly as full as theirs.


Yesterday as life overwhelmed, I picked up the phone and asked for another correspondent child. From anywhere, I said. Any age. 


God chose perfectly last time, and I knew he would again. These children need my prayers, my letters, my declarations of love.


But not as much as I need them. For they remind me. God is enough. As I gaze upon their lovely faces, I remember. 


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The kids and I took Beth to the ER this morning for a follow-up on her sprained knee. They took blood work and inserted an IV just in case. She didn't even flinch. 


An hour later we learned she doesn't have arthritis or an infection in her joint. Thank you, Jesus.


We're to follow up next week with an orthopedic doctor. It's just not healing after three weeks, though she has full use of it after morning stiffness and limping. It's all very puzzling. 


Anyhow, as we were leaving, the nurse practitioner told all four of them, "You kids behaved very well."


My life is in shambles. Yes.


But I'm raising some really nice kids.....at least according to Peter, who's always been wise beyond his years. 


I think I'll take his word for it. He speaks God's grace for me. This week.
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I learned from this post (see the comments section, especially) that children who never receive sponsor letters sometimes leave the child development program, which is administered by Compassion using local churches. These children leave from a broken heart.


Won't you please call this number (800-336-7676) and ask for a Compassion correspondent child?  It's not the same as sponsorship....it costs you nothing...though if you have an extra $25 for a family gift, it might help the family buy a goat to milk, or materials to eventually start a small business. A Compassion employee helps the family decide how to use the money. A gift for a child is $15 minimum and a family gift is $25 minimum.


When you call Compassion you are assigned to a child who is not getting any letters. You can write online as often as you'd like, which is the easiest way to keep up regular letter writing. Soon, we'll be able to send pictures through the online system, which is very exciting. You just sign in to your account and start typing. 


The letters defeat the power of poverty's lie.  You are worthless. Good for nothing. God doesn't love you. You'll never get out of this. There's no hope. You're unlovable.


Please help defeat this lie. I've felt it myself and I know its power.


After I got off the phone, I told the children we were going to get another packet in the mail, introducing us to another child. 


Peter said, "But I don't know if I can pray for another child!"


My own thoughts were similar, all these months. Could I love another child as much as I love Divya?  Would it be the same? Would I have enough time to make them both feel special?


The truth is, the more you struggle yourself, the more the flood gates of compassion open. It's God's way. He allows brokenness in you, so you can be a love offering to the broken.


2 Corinthians 1:4
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.


When that packet comes, I know there will be enough love. And I know from Whom it will flow.