First, a confession. I don’t like kids. At least I didn’t before this trip. I became quickly annoyed when they cried during church services, theatrical productions, weddings and graduations. I avoided playing with them at house parties, and I was immediately bothered when I’d watch a mother carry her little one to a seat near me on a bus or plane. I was baffled every time a friend of mine would actually WANT a baby and I was incredibly skeptical about having any of my own some day. I had little to no tolerance for them. Given our God’s sense of humor, I should have figured he’d use children to speak to me on the World Race.
It was our first full day in Malawi when I found myself in the middle of the largest village in Lilongwe, surrounded by roughly 500 orphans. As I walked into the schoolroom with my team, all eyes were on us, the “azungus.” My gaze landed on a girl in the center of the room. As soon as our eyes locked, her little face lit up and she began frantically waving at me like I was her best friend. That should have been an indication of what the remainder of my afternoon would look like.
We were told we’d be feeding the kids which I was ok with, but when our contact, Pastor Blessings, announced that we’d be playing with them after they ate, my heart sank a little. As stated above, I don’t normally “play” with kids. If anything, I WATCH other people play with kids while I stand by awkwardly, wishing I was fun enough for them them to like me so I could at least look like I was engaging with them. My experiences on the Race thus far have consisted of me trying desperately to keep the attention of the two or three children who found me at least a little interesting while my teammates were swarmed with kids they interacted with so naturally.
This evening in the village was extremely different! There were so many children! Kids everywhere! More than my team could handle! But they weren’t obnoxious or rude. They weren’t demanding, greedy or disrespectful. They were kind and gentle. They humbly smiled at me like I was royalty. They immediately grabbed my hand as soon as I was within arms reach and didn’t let go unless they needed to, and sometimes not even then. They hung all over me! They tickled me and laughed with me. They led me. They begged me to take their picture and invited me into their games (games I’m still not sure I grasp the point of, but we’re fun nonetheless.) I walked with them, danced with them and loved them. The joy they brought surprised me! I could have spent all day at that schoolhouse with those little ones wrapped around me!
I left the village in a daze; a daze of complete and utter happiness and fullness. My spirit was souring. I had no idea children could make me feel that way.
It wasn’t until the ride home that I was able to see just how much God adores me. I cared for those kids so much and I didn’t even know their names. I hadn’t the slightest clue who they were or what their stories looked like, but I loved them. God on the other hand, does know them! And he knows me! He knows my name. He knows what I like and what I don’t like. He knows my favorite color and favorite animal; my favorite movie and my favorite song. He knows every detail about my past, present and future. If I can love kids I know nothing about, how much more does God love his children? How much more does he love me!? He loves seeing my face light up. He loves laughing with me. He longs to hold my hand; to walk with me and dance with me. His love is so overwhelming! And I am his child, constantly reaching for him, running into his arms and never letting go.
I know we’ll be back to that village many more times this month. Hopefully I can get to know some of those precious kids there. And just maybe, I can show them as much Jesus as they’ve shown me.
