My right arm is sore today. It hurts to even lift it to my face. Partially due to the fact that I’ve done far fewer pushups lately. But mostly because of a love that goes far beyond what I’ll ever be able to explain.
Last week was our first at the refugee camp. Last Thursday I was standing infront of about 300 kids leading Great Big Moose for the thousandth time. Last Thursday a little boy about age 2 stood at my feet literally falling over because he was so tired.
After finishing the song his sisters brought him to me and he spent the afternoon resting in my lap. His face constantly covered in flies crawling into his eyes and mouth which I tried desperately to keep away. It was hopeless so I sang to him instead. He looked at me intently the entire time. It wasn’t until an hour later that I realized his beautiful eyes were only seeing blurry images of my face because he has cataracts. This is common for the children here because of poor hygiene. But it broke my heart just the same.
I saw him again the next day waiting for me at the bus. He spent the afternoon in my lap again. But this time I noticed something oozing out of his little green rubber boots he always wore. I took them off to find mud that had been sitting in there for who knows how long. His feet were muddy and beginning to decay slightly. I wiped them off as best I could with my skirt but mud was caked on from days of wear.
All weekend I prayed for the flies to be gone. If nothing else I just wanted the dozens of flies to leave his precious face alone. I saw him again on Monday from across the tent. My teammate was holding him while he slept and I taught english to 200 kids. I began to cry when I realized that he had no flies on his face. They had left him alone entirely.
I didn’t see Little Green Boots for Tuesday or Wednesday but I went searching for him on Thursday. I found him infront of his tin home with his 3 sisters. They were very excited to have me sit and play with them for the little time I had. Up till this point I still had never seen him smile. But that day he was so smiley and giggly. So happy and kind. His eyes lit up with joy and his face free from flies.
Today we walked around the camp collecting kids for the days activities. We walked past his house and I saw him waiting at the door. As the parade of children and my teammates continued on past, I crouched down. He came waddling to me quickly, big smile. I carried him across the camp with the group. After 10minutes of the excited “is is is” he kept repeating, he fell asleep on my shoulder.
He slept on me for an hour. Drool and all. My arm went numb within the first 15min but I refused to move. His sisters came to find him and spent the rest of the afternoon with us while he slept in my arms.
When he woke up we all played together. His precious smile is engraved in my memory. He began to repeat the “is is is” again and at this point I realized he was trying to say Liz. They walked me to the bus after ministry was over but he refused to let me put him down. His sister explained that I’d be back and Little Green Boots hugged me so so tight. I said goodbye with a full heart so excited to see him again.
My right arm hurts a lot from carrying around Little Green Boots for the past few days. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. He’s worth all of it. I don’t care that he smells like sour milk and is constantly dirty. I don’t care if flies attack me while I hold him. And I really don’t care if my arms hurt for the rest of my life if I get to keep holding him.
I think God feels the same way about us too. He doesn’t care if we’re a mess. He just wants us in His arms. He searches us out. He loves it when we call His name. He loves to delight in us. To see us sleeping peacefully and live joyfully. He loves to get to be a part of every little bit of it. Our smiles are forever engraved in His memory. He cares about the little things that bug us and wants desperately to clean up our lives.
God gave me His strong arms this week so I could hold Little Green Boots. He did this so I could finally understand how He wants to take care of me. I am not a burden and He wants to be a part of my life. Just like I want to be a part of Little Green Boots. And because of all He’s done for me all I have to do is say yes and jump into His big strong arms.
