My Beads

These are my favorite beads.  I got them last summer.  It's not because they are exquisitely beautiful.  Because they're not. (Although I love the colors!).  It's not because they are worth a lot of money.  Because they're not.  They are made of paper and plastic.  It's not even because I think they look particularly good on me.  Because I don't.  It's because of the hands that made them.  The hands that learned how to make these beads out of magazines.  The hands that belong to a woman on the other side of the world in Uganda.  That woman made this necklace with the same hands that hold her babies.  The babies who are thriving because she made this necklace.  And I have the honor of wearing it.  It's one of a kind.  I mean, there are probably thousands of necklaces that are similar, but none of them look just like mine.  Every time I slip it around my neck, I think of those hands that crafted each and every bead out of paper (of PAPER!), and I pray for the woman, the mother who belongs to those hands.  I like to think that she has two little boys just like me.  I like to pray for those little boys, too.  I love this necklace.  

This necklace also reminds me of a little girl...I came across the story of this little girl a year or two ago, and I was just blown away.  A Facebook friend had randomly met her and posted her story online--at that time, she was just getting started.  Then, she was selling t-shirts at our church.  Then I spotted her family again at a park close to home, and I was so excited I went to say hi and introduce myself to them (And I am quite sure they thought I was one step from stalking...).  I found out that they know our photographer friend Stephanie, and I thought then how crazy it was that this mission, this little girl kept popping up in my life.  I can't wait for you to read her story because you will be AMAZED.  I know I was. 

Meet Sydney.

http://feedingtheorphans.com/from-sydney

Sydney was 10!! when she started Feeding the Orphans.  When her heart was broken for these children.  When she felt God calling her to action.  When she was obedient.  I am still in awe of her story and her reckless abandon in fulfilling God's purpose for her young and compassionate heart.  I am also amazed at her family's willingness to  step out in faith and obedience and allow Sydney's mission to be their family's mission.  I think her story is just SO worth sharing.  Weren't you amazed?

Sydney's organization does a lot of different things to help support the orphans, including selling really awesome merchandise from t-shirts to jewelry to hosting a sponsorship program for many orphans.  You should check out the website for yourself though...

http://feedingtheorphans.com/

I believe that God has not called us to adopt at this season of our lives, but I do believe He has burdened my heart with this cause.  I rarely go a day where I don't think about those sweet faces, their sick bodies, their overwhelming needs, and know that they are so precious in His sight.  I often feel guilty for how much my own children have when compared to the little boys just their age on the other side of the world, like the little boys who belong to the mother that made my necklace.  My heart is broken for mothers who love so deeply that they make an unimaginable choice to give their children over to a promise of a better life.  And for mothers who have to choose between feeding their children or giving them medicine they need.  And for children who have never known a full belly or a warm bed.  And for children who will not live to be as old as even my own young sons.  But when I get lost in that sorrow and the ache is so deep, God reminds me that we can do something.  So we pray.  We sponsor.  We give.  And we pray some more. 

I have so much growing to do in this area.  I often feel torn between living in the comfort I have always known and sacrificing because that is what He has called us to do.  

I am thankful that God puts people in and around our lives where we least expect them who challenge us and make us grow.   I hope Sydney's story inspires you as much as it did me. 

Thanks for letting me share what's on my heart today.