Today is Orphan Sunday.
Led by the Christian Alliance for Orphans, Orphan Sunday an annual grassroots event calling Christians to be involved in the global orphan ministry. To raise awareness about the orphan crisis and infuse passion into the Church to tackle the problem.
There’s no doubt that the orphan crisis is daunting. How do we help? Where do we begin? Foster care takes time and resources. Adoption is risky, time-consuming and expensive. Supporting a orphan ministry also takes time and money. And all can be exhausting and emotionally draining.
I could share a gazillion statistics about the heart-wrenching orphan crisis. I could show sad photos and attempt to guilt you into action. But that’s not right, either.
It’s easy to feel disconnected. To experience what some sociologists call “compassion fatigue.” The numbers, the pictures, the words–they seem so far away. We know things aren’t right, but we’re overwhelmed with the magnitude of the problem.
About two years ago, I wrote an in-depth feature article about childhood malnutrition. I began to realize that I was in a comfortable bubble of complacency. I began to ask God to burst the bubble. [I continually have to ask and be reminded.] I began asking Him to break my heart for the things that break His. He did that. He is still doing that. In a big way. He will do the same for you.
It hurts. It heals. It is worth it.
I truly believe that God has a plan of redemption for the world. A plan that He is asking us to be a part of. A plan that includes loving and caring for the least of these. For the abandoned baby boy. For the 16-year-old girl who has bounced from foster family to foster family. For the child who is just waiting for a hug.
This Orphan Sunday, I encourage you to throw up your arms and ask for help. To plead for courage and compassion. To beg for a way to show light to such a dark world.
I don’t have the answers. But He does. And he won’t make you travel that journey alone.
“Orphan Sunday calls the Church to make the Gospel visible,” said Jedd Medefind, president of the Christian Alliance for Orphans, in a statement. “When Christians open their hearts and homes in adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry, we mirror the God who did the same for us.”
[Information + quotes taken from this article.]
