Humanitarian Crisis

Their voices call to be noticed. Guarded smiles give way to stories of missing parents. Eyes plead for love. Who will pay attention?

Where are these children? Not in some foreign land ravaged by catastrophe. They are here in our schools. I met them last week while visiting my grandchildren.

“Now hold on just a minute! What kind of depressed area did you visit?”

Actually, it was a nice middle class neighborhood school. The children were well dressed and fun to be with. But after listening a while, there was heartbreak behind the happy faces.

Last week my friend-wife and I took our annual holiday trip (delayed by a December snowstorm) to visit our grandchildren. One thing I look forward to every year is visiting their school and having lunch with them and their friends.

Usually the conversation around the lunch table is just small talk. But often one of the children will interject an unrelated comment. Like the Kindergartener who blurted out, “My mommy died so my grandma did my hair.”

Did I misunderstand, I wondered? So I asked, “Did you say your mommy died?”

Her friend answered for her, “Yes, her mommy was shot.” How heartbreaking!

Another student’s parent was in prison. How unfair to the child! And every year I hear similar stories. A staff member told me that there are many children like this in school.

Several of the children I met were starving for love and attention. So much so that one of the cafeteria helpers told me that whenever a child wants a hug, she gives them one. And almost as if on cue, a child ran up to her with arms stretched out for a hug!

Perhaps you can identify with those children. One or both of your parents were absent. Or maybe they were there but they were emotionally absent.

Other parents are there too much. Intrusive in their children’s lives, they try to live their dreams through their children. Controlling, abusive, harsh and unloving—parenting is easy to mess up and examples abound.

When I hear stories like that it reminds me that the perfect parent doesn’t exist on this earth. We all try our best to ‘do it right.’ But if we’re honest we’ll admit we failed many times.

That’s why I used to tell my children, “You didn’t come with an instruction book and I’m doing the best I can!”

When you meet a hurting heart like those children with whom I had lunch, what can you do? Point them to Jesus. The God of the Bible offers what our souls crave, what our hearts need and what our minds have longed for.

Jesus said that children are special to God. He takes note of their pure faith. God said he would be a father to the orphaned. And he promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The Bible tells us that God is love. And he is especially drawn to the unloved and people that others reject. He doesn’t play favorites and he graciously blesses all without finding fault.

Isn’t that the kind of relationship your heart longs for and has wished for?

So forgive your parents for their failings and come to your Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

If you will say, “Father accept me, adopt me--not because of what I’ve done but because of what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross,” then the Bible says you will become a child of God.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!