Parents

A couple weeks ago this question was proposed to me:

 "Who would you be without your parents?"

This is mind boggling to most of us. Obviously we all have parents, at least in a biological sense. So, yes, technically without our parents we wouldn't exist, but just work with me here.

Imagine you were abandoned in a hospital at birth. You lived there around three years and learned to comfort yourself when you cried because no one was there to hold you. Then they moved you to an orphanage. You were immediately at the bottom of the barrel, the smallest most inexperienced child living in an institution that is designed to merely keep you alive. You learn quickly there are few you can trust. The adults in your life are inconsistent at best. You learn to fear the raised hands and fists of others. You shy away from touch because it is most often found in the form of punishment. Survival instincts are formed. Your value system develops according to a inconsistent environment. Your understanding of kindness, consequences, goodness, strength, joy and love are formed through a screen of confusion. You see glimpses of truth from people who visit and from some of the staff. Yet, when you most need a motherly hug or fatherly advice...no one is there.

This is just a small example what it could be like to grow up as an orphan in Romania. I cannot begin to think that I truly understand what these children go through. So, what I describe is just my imagination based on a small comments and facts picked up from the girls I'm currently living with who grew up in orphanages. I hope it paints some sort of picture for you of what they face.

What really strikes me about this whole concept of growing up without parents is that when I look at who I am today it is hard to think of anything that doesn't connect with my parents. The woman I am today has everything to do with who my parents are, how they raised me and what they taught me. Not only do I have my mother's smile and my father's height, but I also have my mother's desire for peace and my father's stubbornness. My parents have taught me so much throughout my life. I had a dad who taught me how to play basketball, soccer and baseball. I had a mom who taught me to cook, sew and clean. My parents taught me to love music, reading and learning. My mom was literally my school teacher for ten years. My dad taught me to drive, how to fix things and how to play countless board games. They taught me the values of kindness, gentleness, patience, trust and love. From my parents I learned to be a leader and to have courage in spite of my fears. Beyond that I chose to share my parent's faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. My life is now shaped primarily by God; however, the impact my parents had, and continue to have, on my life is unparalleled by any other.

Because of that last paragraph I struggle to understand the girls I live with. Yet, I love them. I know God has me here for a reason. By the strength of the Holy Spirit within me I will try to love them. I will strive to show grace and mercy. I will pray and seek God's wisdom. For there are times to be silent and times to let Him speak truth through me. I will passionately seek my God so that He overflows from within my heart and mind. These days are often confusing, but my God knows the heart of every orphan. Over and over in the Bible God tells His people to share His heart for the orphans by caring for them. Thankfully, He also promises that we don't have to overcome problems or fix things ourselves. We just have to willingly serve, sacrificially love and bring glory to our Heavenly Father.