May 9, 2013
I’m humbled at the opportunity to live 24/7 with thirty beautiful children from the slum, from abused homes and possibly some, from homes without parents. The girls are beautiful – their smiles radiate against their dark skin as camp offers them a chance to finally be kids.
These girls deserve the best, yet they have been handed the worst.
Their laughter is just as real as their tears.
Their playful hearts are just as real as their fierce punches as they fight one another.
Their emotions are real.
Their joy is real.
Their sorrow is real.
There is one girl that stands out to me in particular. She tells me her name is Lucy. She’s probably 7 years old with a twin sister, Agnus. Agnus is substantially larger than Lucy, at least fifteen to twenty pounds heavier, anyways. It reminds me of Ayesha from The Philippines. Ayesha had a twin brother who was as healthy as you can be living in the poorest slum in Manila – yet, his twin sister was dying of malnutrition in the hospital. I wonder if that is what has happened to Lucy.
Was Agnus the one fed better than Lucy?
Treated more fairly?
Does her family have to choose who to give the food too, because they do not have enough?
Sweet Lucy and I
Lucy is an outsider. Not really accepted by her peers. She’s a little slow and a bit mischievous. But she’s beautiful. The hours of play and learning at camp wears Lucy’s little body out. It never fails, that at the campfire at night, while the others sing and dance and debrief the day – Lucy falls asleep in my arms.
Behind that mischievous attitude is a sad little girl with pain that I cannot even begin to comprehend. She thirsts for attention more than the others, constantly desiring to catch my glance.
Lucy is thirsty for approval.
But most of all, Lucy is thirsty for love.
Whether she knows it or not, she is thirsty for the love of Jesus.
We are all thirsty for the love that only Jesus Christ can offer – and so often, we do not realize that is what we are thirsty for. Just like this little girl, I constantly seek for the things of this earth to fill anything empty within me. Yet, I’m reminded, through this little girl – that I am thirsty for Jesus.
It’s Jesus. He’s what I am thirsty for. And He’s right next to me offering the water of life from His well that will quench all thirst. It will give me everything I need, if I just take and drink the cup, which He has offered.
His water purifies.
It makes everything new.
It forgives and gives life.
If Lucy is to take the cup that Jesus is offering her, she will have everything she needs in a world full of incomprehensible nightmares. She will never thirst again as the Water of Life rushes through her soul.
Lucy is not just another statistic that we hear of in America – because that statistic has a name and a heartbeat. That statistic crawls up onto my lap. Lucy is a beautiful child of God that has been made by the King of Kings to have value and worth. She was created by Him to bring light to a dark world. She absolutely has meaning and purpose.
Just as we all do.
Are we willing to take the cup of life from Jesus, Himself, and let our thirst be quenched? Even though we may not be physically hungry or thirsty like these Ugandan children, we are all spiritually thirsty. And Jesus is the only One that will satisfy a thirst that runs deeper that we can imagine.
Let His water rush over you. Just as it rushes over Lucy.
Take and drink.
Never thirst again,
as His water rushes through your soul.
"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scriptures said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"
John 7:37-38
The beautiful view of Lake Victoria from the dining hall of Musana Camps!
