[photo cred: top Lara Crawford, middle Nikki Cochrane, bottom Emily Arzani]
Sarah’s Covenant Homes (SCH) was not my first pick for ministries to partner with in India. I had heard of it before, ages ago, before I’d even made the decision to come on the World Race. I’d read blogs and seen pictures but I never expected that I’d be here myself. Before leaving Europe we were put into new teams and then given more information about what we’d be doing in India. Goodbye Apotolmao, hello Team Luna- named after the moon because we want our team to be a light in the darkness, individuals who reflect the light of the Son. At the airport we found out about our placement. SCH. An orphan care home for abandoned and neglected children with disabilities and special needs. Some people on my squad would have given anything to be placed here. Not me though. I was a little scared.
People with disabilities make a lot of us uncomfortable. That sounds awful and I don’t like seeing it there typed out, but it’s true, isn’t it? We feel sad and confused but we try to hide it and act like everything is fine, pretend that we are perfectly comfortable. We want to show them love and respect but we are afraid of doing the wrong thing, reacting the wrong way. Frankly we don’t really know what to do so we freeze, try to be polite, and wait it out until we can escape.
Our first day here we got a tour of the various homes. And I was left overwhelmed. Children lying on their backs who would never walk, others fumbling with crayons between stumps because they were born without hands. Blind eyes staring blankly, ugly scars peeking out from under t-shirts, tender infant heads swollen huge with fluid. I wasn’t sure how I could survive a month in this place.
So I went running to God. I knew that I couldn’t do it alone. I begged Him to show me what He had for me this month. And He answered me.
Look past their brokenness and see the beauty.
This was such a vital lesson for me to learn. Yes, they are broken in some ways. But if you focus on that you will miss the many ways that they are beautiful! Made in the image of God. I needed to learn this not only for this month but for the rest of my life, because everyone has a broken side that we could choose to focus on. Addictions, divorce, weaknesses, failures, flaws, and imperfections. The sad and ugly and broken pieces of others’ stories could make us uncomfortable, maybe make us want to get away. We probably try to hide that stuff about ourselves. But what if we could acknowledge those things and then look past them to focus on the positive?
Kristy is thin, weak, and at 2 years old doesn’t walk or even sit up on her own. But she has the most beautiful smile and some intensely long eyelashes. She will sit up if you help her and last week she started standing and taking steps with the help of an adult. Go Kristy! Arianna was born with spina biffida and still wears some pretty gruesome scars, but that little 3 year old is the one of the sassiest and spunkiest little rugrats I’ve ever met. She makes me laugh every day. And then there’s seven-year-old Jasmine, who is blind, autistic, and nonverbal.
The day I met Jasmine, our team was told to choose a child to work one-on-one with for the entire month. My first thought was “Anyone but Jasmine.” And the Holy Spirit nudged. “Just because you thought that… it has to be her, only her.” So I chose her, and I would choose her again and again a thousand times. After getting to know her these past few weeks, I can now tell you so much more about her than just the challenges she was born with. I have learned that Jasmine is all about hugs and especially likes being squeezed tight. She loves having her hair played with. It calms her down and it’s one of the only things that gets such a reaction out of her that she will stop rolling her head, cease her restless wiggling, and completely freeze. And she loves music! While listening to my iPod, it seemed to me that her favorites were Space Oddity by David Bowie and anything by Mumford & Sons.
She is beautiful. And so are Kristy and Ariana. And Gabe, and Lily, and Zack. This place is overflowing with some of the most beautiful children I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to share their stories with you, brag on my awesome God who doesn’t make mistakes. He’s a God who doesn’t see things the same way we do. Unless we ask Him to give us His eyes.
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“… the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
“… my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.”
Psalm 27:10
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.”
Jeremiah 1:5
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