She is two years old.
Her eyes are delicate almonds.
Her smile is a treasure chest of pearls;
her lips, pink silk.
Her cheeks are large red roses;
her dimples, deep pots of honey.
Her laughter is a contagious,
explosion of glee.
Her name means “God is gracious”.
Daily, she is sexually abused by an older brother.
Daily, neglected by a tired mother.
Daily, the threats of an abusive,
drug-addicted father hang over her head.
Her hair is a matted nest;
her head, a bed for lice.
Her feet are shoes caked in the mire of poverty;
her clothes, stained, tattered, and worn.
Her cry is a heart breaking, desperate plea.
She is two years old.
She is five years old.
Her eyes are large brown chestnuts.
Her lips are bright sea coral; her mouth, a music box of playful chants.
Her skin is bronze; her face, sweetly kissed by the sun.
She is sensitive as a dove and cautious as a doe.
She doesn’t feel safe at home.
Daily, sexually assaulted by her older brother and his friends.
Daily, neglected; left to play care-taker for her little sister.
Daily, fearful of her father’s temper and quick back hand.
Her limbs are wasted, thin little sticks; her feet, rough sandpaper.
Her lips contort into a frown; her musical playfulness turns to weeping.
Her stubborn attitude and iron will make her heart impenetrable.
She is five years old.
He is 10 years old.
Behind his eyes lay a stolen childhood.
His mouth is a bucket of laughter; his lips, a crooked, playful grin.
His skin is smooth brown leather; his fingers, slender reeds.
He is as playful as a pup, but he is as sly as a fox.
He doesn’t realize he’s only a boy and not yet a man.
Daily, seeks pleasure at the expense of his sisters.
Daily, forced to beg for money in the streets.
Daily, learning violence at the hands of his father.
His back is bloody from his father’s belt and his mother’s stick.
His shining eyes grow dull; his laughter ceases.
No longer a boy; not yet sure how to be a man.
He is 10 years old.
In the midst of it all, I have found myself crying out in anguish like Job:
“But if Judgment Day isn’t hidden from the Almighty, why are we kept in the dark?
There are people getting away with murder- stealing, and lying and cheating.
They rip off the poor and exploit the unfortunate, push the helpless into the ditch,
bully the weak so that they fear for their lives.
The poor, like stray dogs and cats, scavenge for food in back alleys.
They sort through the garbage of the rich, eke out survival on handouts.
Homeless, they shiver through cold nights on the street; they’ve no place to lay their heads.
Exposed to weather, wet and frozen, they huddle in makeshift shelters.
Nursing mothers have their babies snatched from them; infants of the poor are kidnapped and sold.
They go about patched and threadbare; even the hard workers go hungry.
No matter how backbreaking their labor, they can never make ends meet.
People are dying right and left, groaning in torment.
The wretched cry out for help and God does nothing, acts like nothing’s wrong. . . .”
Where is the God who is mighty to save?! Why aren’t you fighting for these innocent babies?! Why do I feel so helpless?! Where are you in their lives God?! Why are you silent?! What is the big picture here?! What is your plan for these precious babies?!
Ps. 34:18: The Lord is near the broken hearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
I sent you Kristen. I am near to these children because you are near to them.
Ps. 147:3: He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.
Have I not already told you Kristen, you are an emotional healer. Where you go, healing breaks out. You have been sent to bind up their broken hearts.
Is. 61:1-3: (paraphrase) good news preached to the poor; bind up the broken hearted; freedom to captives; opening prison doors for those who are bound; proclaim God’s favor; proclaim the day of vengeance; comfort all who mourn; give a beautiful headdress instead of ashes; give the oil of gladness instead of mourning; give a garment of praise instead of despair-
ALL of these things I have anointed you to do by MY Spirit, Kristen.
I am here Kristen. I am beside you and I am beside them. I am fighting for them because you are fighting for them. I am all powerful. You are not helpless. I am in their lives because you are in their lives. I am only silent when you are silent. Love is the big picture. YOU, my friend, are my plan.
