It is 3:00 in the afternoon.
And the children are waiting earnestly for the call…
to go play in the water!
Some have spent hours in physical therapy sessions;
Others have spent the morning at school,
or walking around the village with us.
Everyone has eaten lunch, and taken a nap.
They are ready.
It’s time to go play in the water!!
They push through the screen door and off they go!
Spirits immediately lifted!
Hearts incredibly full!
I stand at the edge of the front step and see a vivid picture of not a single orphan. I see a pool full of children completely immersed in their Father’s Love! The adversity of a disability washed away by the Spirit of the living God!
I see a pool full of overcomers!
Every. Single. One of them.
This month I’ve spent my days at Hope Home, a foster home for children in Chiang Mai. A home for children with disabilities who were overlooked, unwanted, or neglected by someone, somewhere, in the beginning years of their life. Regardless of age, disability, or illness each of these children was taken in to be cared for completely and tenderly by the staff. From daily physical therapy to hourly meds, intentional afternoon schooling to necessary hospital visits, the caregivers work diligently to help out these children in every way they can.
It’s been an incredible place to partner with! We’ve spent time doing projects that don’t even make their to-do lists because their number one priority is the children. We’ve organized photos, sorted clothes and stuffed animals, laminated medicine cards, and even tried to find all of the missing pieces to the puzzles. To some these tasks may seem little, but we immediately saw the fruit of these little things pay off in a big way.
Pushing aside busyness and tasks, my favorite time of the day was the last hour of each day. Collectively, my team chose to live out the ‘work hard, play harder’ mentality for water play!
It was my favorite because after a day full of everyone working on different things, helping different children, and constantly running around taking care of everyone and everything- all of us stopped!
Racers and staff, all of us, stopped and joined the kids around the pool!
(for some of us that meant in the pool and we were okay with that!)
Each of these kids has had to deal with more trauma or challenges than most of us will in our lifetime. Most of them will have to work really hard to do the things that come pretty easy for us- like walking, talking, and eating.
Yet, when these children gather in the baby pool in the front yard of Hope Home…
it’s as if a piece of heaven comes down to earth.
Splashes of JOY
Buckets of FUN
Swimming in GRACE
Showered in LOVE
& No TEARS!
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
All these things are gone forever.”
Revelation 21:4NLT
I can’t help but reflect on this promise God has for each of us. And like any promise, I can’t overlook the truth. Yeah, this life isn’t going to be easy. It isn’t going to look the way we think it is. We’re going to be faced with challenges. There are going to be moments (maybe long moments) we feel lonely, lost, helpless or misunderstood.
But here’s the baby pool persepctive- the promise never goes away!
Just as these children look forward to the pool full of water every day, we get to look forward to the promise of a new day filled with new joys!
So my question to you is do you have a ‘baby pool’ ‘water play’ hour of your day? If not, do you want to make one? Find one?
What makes you come alive? What lifts your spirit? What puts a smile on your face? What wipes all the tears away?
Maybe it’s a walk around the village with the Lord. Maybe its sitting and having a good conversation with a friend or spouse over a cup of coffee or a beer. Maybe its choosing to put the dish rag down and jump in the pool with the kids (cannon ball style)! Maybe its an evening drive by yourself to the local ice cream shop with the windows rolled down (if this were physically possible right now I’d do it)!
You can rest in the promise that the God who created you wants you to splash in HIS Joy, have buckets of HIS Fun, swim in HIS grace, and be showered in HIS love!
XOXO
Tay
