Stop ignoring...

As I'm getting ready to go to sleep tonight I find myself thinking about children. The children I meet here are busy all day/night either playing with their toys, watching television, going to school, eating snacks, riding their bikes and sleeping in warm beds. This is quite the contrast to children I have met elsewhere. (And I know that even in Holland there are children who are lacking some of the necessities in life).

My mind drifts to Haiti, where children I know are sleeping in tents, with few toys and little food and water. Children who only dream of going to school. I think about some of my patients in Sierra Leone, sleeping in shacks, having to walk a couple of miles to fetch their water, with no access to healthcare. I think of Joshua who is at a children's home right now but lacks a parent's love and affection.

I am reminded that Jesus called all the children to Himself. When they were being pushed aside by the disciples, it was Jesus who wanted to draw the children close to His heart. To sit with them. Speak to them. Listen to them. We are to be like Jesus. He calls us to reach out to the orphans and widows. This is what I am called to do. I want to be there for these children. Help them in times of need.

I was looking back at some previous posts and found a post I had written two years ago called TEARS OF A CHILD. A post written about an experience I had in Sierra Leone in which I ignored a crying child, to only later be confronted by this and fortunately see the child again. How often do we ignore the needs of children? Granted, we cannot meet all of their needs but we can try to help. Whether this be children in the developing world, or children in the house next door in the West. Ignorance is not the answer. Doing something is better than nothing at all. Children deserve a chance. They deserve to be heard. They deserve recognition. They are our future. Let's embrace children as Jesus did.

"The kindness one does for a child may not change the world but it will change the world for that one child."