Orphanage reflection

With weekly trips to the orphanage, it's easy to become numb to the emotional shock and burden of a building full of children without the love of a parent. For some reason, that numbness wore off a bit today, as I found tears pooling in my eyes. There were joyful moments in the day. There were numerous students from the Chinese department at our school who crowded the place with love and attention for the children. There was the smiling face of a cheerful toddler who will begin a new future when she meets her parents this Tuesday. Her world is about to be turned upside down as she trades all of the familiar sights, sounds, and faces for a family that has been eagerly waiting to meet her. Knowing the love that is awaiting her just warms my heart. But at the same time, sorrow and grief washes over my heart. There's the premature baby found in a plastic bag fighting for life in an incubator who looks scarily worse than the previous week. There are babies who have been fighting colds for weeks. There's the tiny little girl who just doesn't seem to be putting on weight. Then there's the little boy who has captured and stolen my heart. We believe he has spina bifida, and the sight of the sores on his back make me cringe with grief. Holding and caressing him I felt utterly incapable of relieving his suffering. It sounds rather cliche, but really, at the end of the day one of the only things left to do is to release these tiny lives into the Father's hand. On a more practical note, we're discussing getting students involved in doing another fund raiser for the orphanage. The money raised would go toward surgeries and medical care for babies like the boy suffering from spina bifida. It is wonderful to see students who are becoming passionate about the orphanage. In the end, we would love to see our role diminish and theirs increase. For if a day comes when we're no longer here, they are the ones who will carry on in loving these kids.