Where do I start? Seeing as how 95% of the people I know are real-live, true parents, anything I write here will probably not strike most of you as new. Being a parent is hard! I obviously have not experienced the stress of pregnancy or the pains of labor, but coming to care for and understand a child without knowing what has happened to that child before you arrived on the scene of that precious life is pretty difficult in and of itself...times 44! I am pretty much daily amazed by the blessings and challenges that I face as I try to raise 44 girls in the way of the Lord. Please pray that I will continually seek God's help for the wisdom to do this because I can surely not even begin to be successful in my own strength...I have none. In ONE day, I had:
*1 girl who wandered over the hill behind our house and down close to our neighbor's property because she was upset about something another girl had said to her (This was in addition to the same girl ripping someone's drawing, breaking a mop handle and breaking a window pane, all within 3 weeks. Can we say anger management?)
*1 girl whom I argued with because, well, it would take too long to explain. Basically, she was disobedient to me because she was angry that she had already missed out on a privileged opportunity due to vanity and stubbornness, etc. (Of course, her version would be something totally different, right?) Teenagers!
*1 girl who was upset about I don't know what and chose to hide while I was putting the other girls into their rooms for the night, so that I thought she had run away and went out looking for her. Thankfully she didn't and was o.k.
*1 girl, one of my normally good 20-year old leaders, who refused to go into her room because she was mad about not being able to go to the planned talent show that evening because she had to stay and watch over the rest of the children who were not going.
WHEW!! Not to mention that Honduran pride is some of the toughest I have ever seen. Pretty much every time I try to help and ask, "What's wrong?" I get the back of a head, or whatever kind of blow-off they seem to think is appropriate at the time--tighter than a clamshell!
It's a pretty stressful profession/ministry/life at times. Please pray that I will allow God to help me put aside my own pride and frustrations so that I may be a pure example of His love to these children. I was thinking about my own family yesterday and how blessed I am, and I cannot even begin to imagine how these children without families or with every-now-and-then visiting families must feel. Lord, please help me to understand and love them!
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:27
3 comments:
We'll be praying for your "motherly" instincts to come out in full force! God bring patience, discipline, and love to Tammy!!!!
Keep running, Tammy!! The Lord remains faithful to your efforts, even on days when you may not be able to see in what ways :o). There are definitely different challenges working in an orphanage, but it is true that consistency and sincere love go a long way, no matter a person's background or situation. May God give you these things as you seek to be His hands, feet, and heart.
Great article, I like your honesty is saying it's not all roses! This is real life. You certainly don't have to have gone through labour to be a mother, I like to say of our sponsor children,, they were not born of my belly but in my heart:) Will keep you in my prayers for spiritual strength, patience and the Lords love to continue to flow out of you to them. Blessings, Lorrie Ball.
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