Letting My Heart Be Broken

I don't know the blogger who writes at Sit A Spell.  But she writes about being a new missionary in Haiti and some of the experiences she & her husband have been facing.  Such as - twice in 3 days - being offered orphaned babies: "Do you want her?"  And having to say No, because in Haiti you could say Yes a thousand times, and still run into desperate children on a daily basis.  She wrote:

"While many American churches are worrying about the lighting on their stage, or fussing over the displays in their foyer, children are suffering in orphanages, groaning...aching...for someone to come redeem their lives."

The rest of the post is worth reading too. 


I've read Licia's blog for years, and respect her work in Haiti.  At her Rescue Center she has recently admitted four girls - all suffering from kwashiorkor (malnutrition).  She is asking people to pray for the girls - for their lives and their healing. 


Other missionaries/bloggers I greatly respect are the Livesays.  Recently they wrote regarding orphans:

"Whether I think about them or not - they exist. My choices are pretty straight forward. So are yours.


1. We find something we can do.


or


2. We plug our ears and close our eyes and pretend there is no problem.


Only one choice reflects the heart of our Father."


I don't have the answers.  I just know that - for me - I'm feeling suffocated by the excesses of my daily life.  How can I buy a new pair of shoes when thousands of people - people just like me - have NO shoes?  How can I choose to eat in a restaurant when thousands of people will not eat at all today.. or tomorrow.. and will literally starve to death? Over 26,000 children die each day of largely preventable causes related to their poverty.*  Surely I could do more.  I can make tiny sacrifices that would yield life for someone else.  That is what I would hope someone else would do if my sons were among the ones starving.


I'm not feeling guilty.  And I'm not failing to enjoy what I've been given.  I'm just longing for life to be more than new shoes & fancy food.  And I think it's possible.


So I pray.  I ask God to provide for the ones who suffer.. and the ones who care for them.. and to show me what my role is.  And I let my heart be broken.




*Statistic from Richard Stearns' "The Hole in Our Gospel"