Orphan Sunday

6 years ago God broke my heart for a thing that breaks his - a worldwide orphan crisis.

It never really mended - my heart, that is. And somehow I don't think it was meant to. Millions of orphaned children should chafe at one's soul. Child led households should be disturbing. Babies with cleft palates destined to short lives lived out in institutions - that should keep a person awake at night.

So because God broke my heart for these things, I wrote a little email to the leadership of our church suggesting we host a Orphan Sunday event. I was not at all sure that they would take it seriously. But guess what? They did. We did. And Jacob's Well hosted our first ever Orphan Sunday. I'm sure big churches with big budgets pulled off some impressive events. Ours was simple yet... God was on the move.

One family made a commitment to adopt. Another is seriously considering it. Small groups are supporting child led households. Our church is commiting to help an organization who cares for kids who've aged out of foster care and are living on the streets.

There is a buzz...a rumbling...an undercurrent and a subtext.

I am so excited.

Partly, it's that I know many orphaned kids need to have the church act as their defender. If we are really, truly the hands and feet of Christ, then we need to be feeding, protecting, advocating and caring for the least of these.

But it's more than just that...because in some weird way we (the American church) need these orphans too. We need the to draw us out of the bondage of our own self-absorption. We need them to teach us about joy, and hope. We need them to redefine "treasure" for us. We need them to lead us to the heart of our Father.

When my heart broke for the orphaned child it broke, really and truly. Yet somehow in the process I found that life was bigger than I ever knew, and I found HOPE. I believe that as our little church cares for the things that break God's heart we will find life. Our world will grow. We will grow - both in numbers and in maturity. And I am so excited to see what God will do.

Little of this, Little of that

Some women I know have recommended the book, Reckless Faith. While searching on Amazon for it I discovered that John MacArther has a book with a similiar name. It's called "Reckless Faith: Why Christians Today are Passive Idiots. "

Something like that.

Anyhoo, that is NOT the book I'm talking about. The one I'm talking about was written by a girl named Beth. I'm gonna read that one.

Beth and her husband Todd have been involved in orphan care for over a decade; they've lived on the edge. They've seen God work because they've been to places where only the work of God could make any difference. From what I gather, as Beth shares her story she encourages her readers to join her in living where things only makes sense from an eternal perspective. When her life begins to make too much sense, when her decisions are safe, and rational she questions whether she is really living how she should be.

Beth's passion is for the orphan child.

God's passion is for the orphan child.

The Bible says, (paraphrasing here) "Don't mess with the fatherless, don't take advantage of the weak...there defender is strong."

God is a father to the fatherless. He will take up there cause. He places the abandoned in families, and lifts up the oppressed.

Yea, I know hundreds of thousands of kids die, lives wrecked by AIDS, or starvation, or neglect or abuse. But somehow in the crud of it all I still believe that God does care for the orphan child. He cares passionately. And though it makes no sense, and though the evidence sometimes points to the contrary God loves these kids. He has a plan for their lives.

In my admittedly limited experience I have found that as my heart breaks for the things that break God's heart I know Him in a way I never could otherwise. And as I engage the battle for the "least of these" there is evidence of a powerful God at work.

If we have not love...

This keeps me up at night...keeps me popping my antidepressants. I know. I know. I cannot save the world. I know, my children, and my family are my priority, and right now they take a huge portion of the resources I have to offer. But STILL....the facts remain....STILL...my heart breaks.

So the question is "what now?" and "what next?"

And I have no answers.

AIDS ORPHANS IN AFRICA

Curious just how many AIDS orphans are living in Africa? I thought you were. Click here.

So, friend, what are we going to do about it?