Recently Karyn, Jack (our 2 year old), McLaine (our 11 month old), and I were blessed by a timely visit by my mom, Bonnie. You see, Karyn had just had surgery – a scary thing when you are so far from home and family – and we were facing her recovery with two young children to boot. Needless to say we were feeling a bit overwhelmed.
 |
| Mom with Jack and McLaine at home in Addis |
And then we received a call from mom. She said, “I’ve got my ticket to come and now all I have to do is go to Washington D.C. to get a last minute passport.” There was much rejoicing within our household that day.
Mom arrived in Addis Ababa on May 2, 2009 and we were able to enjoy her visit and her help for an entire month!
As I thought about mom and her impractical, yet loving, last minute decision to come to Ethiopia to help her family, I realized how blessed I am. I believe being loved so tangibly is not only a privilege but it’s also how God intended it to be. I have experienced my mother and my father’s love – their deep, unconditional love – and believe I am who I am today partly because of it. Even my understanding of God owes credit to my parents’ love of me.
I work with and am approached by children everyday here in Addis who have no such love in their lives. I am heartbroken when I consider that these children and thousands more in Addis Ababa alone are living lives void of this God-intended parental love.
Today I have no answers to give that solve this overwhelming tragedy, but I do have a prayer…
Father God, love the forsaken children of this country so deeply, so tangibly that they miraculously understand what it means to have a mother’s love. I ask that your presence will penetrate the dark streets and allies that many of these children sleep on here in Addis Ababa. You are their father and their mother. AMEN
 |