I was working on one of our newest children’s bios today. In the original bio were these two simple sentences: He was born on June 1, 2006. He was abandoned at the gate of a local medical university on March 7, 2007.
As I typed them into the bio for our website, I thought about the weight of what I was really saying. It sounds so simple, clinical, and matter-of-fact… but for a few minutes, I let myself think about what March 7, 2007 must have been like for this little guy.
The checkup didn't go as they had hoped. The doctor gave them very bad news. As they stood in front of the hospital, someone would have taken a last look, tightened up his jacket, and stoically walked away. I think they probably cried. He must have stood there, confused for a while. Eventually the fear took over, and I’m sure he started crying. Someone else would have found him and taken the time to stop and ask what was wrong. They would have called the police and perhaps gone on their way after they made their statement. (But I wonder if they’ve ever forgotten that moment…)
And so he began a journey that has finally brought him here…
Last night I gave a presentation on the foster home in Beijing. Afterwards someone came up to me and asked how I could bear to work at a place with such sorrow and suffering. I told her, "By the time they get to us, they are on the path to restoration and redemption. When I see them, I primarily see the hope they now have and I do not dwell on the tragedy they have experienced."
But every now and then, reality catches up with me… sometimes in simple sentences like “He was abandoned at the gate of a local medical university on March 7, 2007” that say so very much.
LinkWithin
8 comments:
Yes, those words are filled with sorrow and separation. It is good for us to never forget the loss our children have endured; and it is good to daily be reminded of how God never left them. Never.
I bet your presentation was wonderful and I would love to be able to hear it.
New Day gives such hope to the orphan, such new LIFE!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
Oh, amen. I think about our foster son's mother a lot. He was abandoned at a hospital when he was two months. The scenario was probably similar- a hard diagnosis of Down Syndrome in a country where there are no resources for families with special needs kids. What did it mean for his mother when she walked away? It's almost his birthday-is she thinking about him? Those are hard, hard questions to think about.
Thank you for sharing this!!!
The "he was abandoned" story is one of the hardest things for me to deal with. A four day old baby abandoned in the middle of a cold February night screams of a desperation I can't even dream of...just like this little guy's story. They're hard words. I'm thankful we have some hope to cling to...
The words that gripped me from our daughter's report were these: "It was failed to search for her relatives with great effort and she was sent to Social Welfare Institute of Baoji City to be raised upon the approval of civil affairs bureau of Baoji City." In one sentence, they sum up such a significant moment in her life and her birth family's life....and then our life.
Carrie,
Your heart for the children you serve is amazing! I look forward to your thoughts as I believe you have so much more insight than many of us who have adopted.
Thank you for your transparency, hope, and love for 'the least of these.' Knowing that children, including my son, are loved on by people like you who allow themselves to stop and consider where they've come from means more than you will ever know!
Funny (irony filled), when I read the bio on the site, I had the same thought when I read those words. I so often think about the moment when our little people were left behind, and yet God never left them. I am so thankful that you think these thoughts. It makes it even mroe special knowing that someone who comtemplates these things also watched over my son and all the other kids at ND.
I love your approach to handling the sorrow question. I stopped by to see how y'all are doing and read this post... I felt like I was supposed to share that though the reality and truth of the hurt is that he was abandoned, that the other truth we know is God wants to work restoration (like you said) to change that hurtful part into a new sentence, perhaps one like: "On March 7, 2007, I was delivered into a family that truly loves me." God BLESS YOU for being the arms and heart of God for that child. XOX and blessings on your baby!
Post a Comment