When this beautiful child came to us through adoption two and a half years ago it didn't take us long to see that she was heavy laden. She had spent from age 2-5 in a government run orphanage in China. Her pain was so evident. At the surface. Real.One thing thats easy to surmise about every single orphan and foster child on the planet- they are heavy laden. There has been trauma and great loss. They are staggering under the pain of living without the love of a family.
3 weeks ago we were at the National Orphan Summit in Nashville. One of the main speakers was a man from Kenya. At age 5, he saw his mother beheaded. He lived in an orphanage until he was 18. In his message, he said that it wasn't the lack of food or clothing that was hard...it was the emotional pain. In his orphanage years, he never had anyone hug him or tell them that he was loved.
Our mission is to make a powerful connection between God's Word and these shattered hearts. They can understand it. He is able to heal them through biblical truth. In Matthew 11, Jesus says these things can be hidden from the "wise" of this world, and yet revealed to little children. In the same passage, He invites the weary and heavy laden to come. This is an invitation every orphan and foster child so desperately needs. In verse 29, He says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your soul."
We're trying to do that "learn from Me" part to heavy laden children. A life without the love of a family is too much to bear and their souls are crying out for rest. Parents give rest to their children. They calm them when they are afraid. They soothe them when life hurts. By losing the care of loving parents, these children have lost that rest. But oh the power of Scripture! It's not just black ink on a page. It's living. It's the actual Word of God able to heal, bind up and restore. In Matthew 11:29 there's a beautiful link - learning from Him results in rest for the soul. By animating the specific biblical truth these children need, the learning curve is greatly accelerated. And the best result of all? Heavy-laden orphans finding rest for their weary souls.
