India is a nation full of poverty, sadness and despair. Daily we hear stories about the lives of the kids here that just wreck you. Stories that I can’t even imagine. It’s so easy to feel like I can’t do anything.
I know I can love on these kids. I know that’s really the only thing I CAN do. I can hold them when they cry, help them with their homework, hold their hand on the way to the bus stop and braid their hair before school. However, I wonder what kind of lasting impression that can make. As a short term missionary, there isn’t much we can do in the long run. We do what we can while we are here, and then we leave. We will go on to the next country, and then on home. It’s easy to wonder what a little bit of temporary love could be worth.
However, if we take ourselves out of it, and let God love these kids through us, then it is worth everything. My fleeting love is not enough. The only love that never fails, never ends and endures all things is God’s love. When we take ourselves out of it and let God love people through us, then we are loving them in a way that won’t stop when we leave. I think that when I try to do it myself, not only am I exhausted by the end of the day, but theres a slim chance it will make a lasting impression. I will leave in 3 weeks. God won’t . He will always be here loving on these kids. All I want to do is play a part in that, because being a part of God’s love is a much greater thing than I could do on my own.
