I recently attended a seminar in Kampala about what
Uganda calls OVC children (orphaned and vulnerable children). Statistically,
there are over 2.5 million orphans in Uganda (yep- I said Uganda, not Africa).
Half of Uganda’s population is under 15 years old.
Sometimes this work can be overwhelming when you just
look at the numbers. You want to do more. Make a bigger impact. 108 is lost in
the sea of 2.5 million. Am I really
making a difference at all?
But in these moments the Lord is always so kind to remind
me of a poem I read in one of those email forwards (the ones you usually delete
without even opening them). This was the
poem:
One day an old man was walking down the
beach just before dawn. In the distance he saw a young man picking up
stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea. As the old man
approached the young man, he asked, "Why do you spend so much energy doing
what seems to be a waste of time?" The young man explained that the
stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. The old man
exclaimed, "But there must be thousands of starfish. How can your
efforts make any difference?" The young man looked down at the
starfish in his hand and as he threw it to safety in the sea, he said," It
makes a difference to this one!"
IT MAKES A
DIFFERENCE TO THIS ONE!
And to THIS ONE!
And to THIS
ONE!
And I could
continue posting 108 photos. And with each of those beautiful faces I look at I
can tell a story of how far the Lord has brought them. And how our Heavenly
Father is has and continues to restore HOPE in the lives of the hopeless. I am
reminded that these are not just photos taken from “that one time I went to
Africa” but these are my sisters and brothers. These are children who I love
dearly. These are friends who I have watched grow up, who I have helped to
counsel and guide in the ways of the Lord, and who I get to wrap my arms around
each day and tell them that they are loved.
I pray that
my life examples that of Christ. I pray that as I greet them by name, they
would know that their Father knows their name and has good plans for
their life. I pray that as I spend hours planning local activities and
preparing for summer teams that their minds would be open to the grandness and
uniqueness of our Creator. And I am humbled that the Lord would allow me to be
part of their everyday lives and make a difference to this one.
