Sometimes God brings something to an end, but he’s not asking you to say goodbye. Instead, he’s asking you to lean in and keep pressing into the things that make your heart hurt the most.
This month has taught me so much about people, myself, and God. My faith grew exponentially while careening through the crowded streets of India in the back of tuk tuks (sending up a thousand prayers for God to save my soul). I have seen the gentle, tender love the Father lavishes on his children through the sweet care the ayahs give their children. I have experienced the tenacity of the human spirit through the foster parents who continue to love, care for, pray over, and seek God’s best for their kids every single day.
When I first walked through the doors of SCH I never expected to fall in love the way I have. I never anticipated that my heart would be so irreparably wrecked because of the amazing fosters, ayahs, and children that I have had the honor of serving this month. When I leave India in just three days, I will leave sizable piece of my heart behind. India will forever be written on my heart and will from this month forward be part of my story.
A piece of my heart will forever remain at our white house on a tiny street in the middle of the city, where our toilet and shower were one. A piece will remain with the butterscotch colored dog on the way to one of the care homes, who all month long debated being my friend. Part of my heart will hide in the back of the Coke refrigerator at the corner store we visited almost every day. Still another piece will float through the monsoon waters near the public school a mile from our house. The final piece will forever stay clutched in the tiny hand of a girl with shiny black pigtails and dimples. I have no way of knowing if my piece of India was as impacted as I have been, but I will never be the same.
In every raindrop, every creepy caterpillar I have accidentally squashed, every smile of every woman coaxed out by my crazed waving and smiling, and every giggle of every sweet child I danced with God has romanced and pursued me. God is writing a beautiful love story for me- a tale of the extravagant love He has for me.
I am so, SO sad to leave India behind, but I’m so excited to see what God does in the next 10 countries. Who knew this journey would be equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking?
