The power of motherly love

I just returned from one of my last lunches with the children.

What sweet hearts these children have.

I am encouraged that these children that were once forgotten, abandoned and mistreated have been showered with love from their supporters, the staff here in Ilula, the visiting teams and interns, and even their brothers and sisters. Even more amazing to me is the selfless love that these parents daily heap on these children.

I think of one mother in particular who adopted an older boy who was extremely rough. Life had dealt him a sequence of circumstances that some adults couldn’t even fathom, and for him it was all before he reached the age of 9. To name a bit of his story, he was orphaned, adopted and immediately abandoned, adopted again, mistreated and left to fend for himself on the streets. I’m told that when he first arrived here he was a tough kid and more often than not was just plain mean. I guess it only makes sense that he had built such a hard exterior in an effort to protect himself. He was causing some trouble and resisting anyone’s attempt to break the walls he had built, but one mother with hope in her heart and a plan of unconditional love decided she was willing to take him on.

Tears come to my eyes now as I reflect on this. As I am not yet a parent, I can only imagine the unconditional love required of a parent when a child is in a pit and seems utterly unlovable. The wisdom they have to know those are the moments when the child is most in need of the very thing he is pushing away takes my breath away. Of course, this is but a trace of what God has modeled for us – finding us again and again in the moments when we are furthest from Him and most unworthy of His care. And in spite of that reality and the evidence that testifies against us, he scoops us up and welcomes us back to himself, with celebration and rejoicing.

I have lived here for two months now and am amazed at how this young boy has softened even in that short amount of time.

Oh, the testimony of powerful and relentless love.

Oh, the courage of this mother, and all the other mothers that this testimony.

Oh, the joy, the hope, and the love found in a simple unashamed smile shared between a mother and her adopted son who may still be rough on the edges but is unquestionably becoming a new boy with the capacity to love and be loved.

Oh the pride of this mother in a boy that many have cast aside but whom she decided to treasure, cherish and believe in.

If only you could hear her constant praise and declaration of her love for him.

“And he that sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5

~ Christy Thomas, Intern