My mother told me a story once about my Dad that I will never forget. She told me that when she got pregnant with my second brother my Dad looked at her and asked “How can I possibly love someone as much as I love Andy (my oldest brother)?” He was so afraid that there wasn’t enough room in his heart to love another child as much as he loved the first. When my brother Eric was born, all his fears melted away and his love for Andy never got smaller to fit the love for Eric. His heart just grew. My mom then told me you will always be able to love more. You will always have room to love more people that come into your life.
After leaving Swaziland my heart ached for those beautiful children on the mountain. I truly thought there is no way I can love a ministry as much as this. Then a group of sixteen street kids entered my life, and not only did I know I could love another ministry that much, I found out that my heart would forever be broken by those beautiful kids. They were a group of kids that had been forgotten, looked down on, and that desperately needed love. For these sixteen kids that love came four months ago when four amazing woman came into their lives. Street Light – the ministry we had the opportunity to work with – started four short months ago with the hope of finding a group of street kids they could focus on. They are starting with a center – a center that could be a place of refuge for these kids to learn and spend time off the streets. The center is just the beginning of what they hope to do for these kids. They want to get this group off the streets with an eventual permanent home for them and eventually find more groups of kids to focus on. Until those plans come to be these kids have found comfort in finally having a place to keep their things safe. The center is a place where they know when they show up they will be loved.
These sixteen kids came into my heart in so many different ways. They have been ignored for most of their lives; many have been doing drugs since they were little. They often don’t know what love should look like, but they are desperate for it. They hit. They steal. They are sometimes mean, but they have taught me so much about the love of Jesus that I know they have changed my life forever. Jesus’ love is patient; it loves through being kicked, spat on, and punched. His love hurts; it hurts when he sees his children on the streets doing drugs. His love always hopes; it hopes that one day these kids will have a life better than the one they have always known. It keeps no record of wrong; it is being sworn at one hour and the next holding out your arms for the most amazing hug. Yes, Jesus loves these beautiful children of the streets, and he wants so much more for them.
Every day that I close my eyes I see each one of those sixteen kids with their beautiful smiles, and I know God is going to do huge things through Street Light!
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. -1 Corinthians 13:4-7
