For two weeks, we were volunteering at a foster home an hour or so south of Beijing. I got to be with the babies. I got to hold them, feed them, have them fall asleep in my arms. I had the chance to whisper in their ears: "You are loved. You are a child of God. And there's going to be a family for you."
Each of their futures had once looked bleak, desolate, hopeless. Each one of them had been abandoned at or near birth by desperate parents who couldn't provide for their medical needs. But they were found. Someone heard their cries and brought them to an orphanage, which later sent them on to the foster home where they could receive surgeries, therapy, and extra big doses of love. Now they get to look forward to meeting their forever families.
The very spot on which the foster home was built mirrors the children's stories. That piece of land was once considered by the villagers to be "cursed." Some people actually went there to commit suicide. But one man's prayers changed all of that. He went there every day to pray and one day he had a vision that foreigners would come and build an orphanage on that plot of land. Now it is a place where life is celebrated and children are treasured. It is a beacon of hope.
What is your desolate place? What is mine? There are circumstances in my life that I see as hopeless, dreams that I can't forsee coming true. I wonder, will anything good arise from this? But His hand reaching down makes all the difference. Love Himself turns over our dry ground and reveals the beauty waiting underneath. He's calling us to water it - with prayer and hope. Even when our dreams feel impossible. Even when we can't see anything ahead. Trust Him. Run towards Him. Say YES to Him. Hope is on the rise.