This past week we went to a home
for the disabled.
It was overwhelming as we walked in and saw the number of
patients. We helped feed the patients and gave them our time and love. It was
heartbreaking to look at all these people and just think about their lives.
Many of them were sent here because their parents either didn’t want them or
couldn’t care for them.
I cried out
to God, “God, what is the purpose of this?! I don’t understand..” I grabbed a
plate and sat down next to Angela so I could feed her.
It was difficult on a
many levels. She was severely crippled and had a hard time just chewing her
food. But as I sat there, God began to show me a glimpse of His purpose. “It’s for my glory,”~ I heard Him whisper. These
are my little children and I love them just the same!
And as we were there I
began to see it more clearly. They had such a love, and even though some of
them didn’t have the capacity to talk, or move, or even comprehend~ you could
still see God’s love through them… They were still His creation, and they were here for His purpose. What was even more amazing was how they responded to the
name of Jesus. We would pray with them and sing to them and every time they
would hear the name of Jesus a big smile would follow.
Some would even hoot and
holler a little. Josh sang some songs to the girl he was feeding and when he
got to “Jesus loves me” the girl lit up with a big smile and some laughter.
It
was almost as if God was showing all of us the power in Jesus’ name and that
even these children and adults recognized it’s worth. Hey…the Bible does say
that EVERY knee will bow and EVERY TONGUE will confess that Jesus is Lord!
As sad as
it was, I left there so filled. I experienced such a deep love that day. I now had a new picture of God’s love for us.
While they were broken, messy, and unable to take care of themselves, you
couldn’t look at them and not love them.
And that is how God looks at us. We
are broken in this world, messy with sin, and unable to rescue ourselves. But
as God sees us in our helplessness, He can’t help but love us and have
compassion on us! This love, what a love… Where He looks past all of our
imperfections, and lavishes us with His perfect love.
This
experience will be burned into my heart forever. As we visited each of
them they would get so excited and even more so when we took pictures and
showed them! They were beautifully broken~ and as I spent time with them… So
was I.
