Monday, September 22, 2008

Submit

I had seen the commercials at dinner with a man cradling a child, a shack in the background. I felt real compassion for them.

I did.

And I turned the channel.

I read Shannon's and Sophie's blogs and I felt like I went to Uganda with them. I cried over their stories about children in poverty and I've laughed about Shannon's monkey alarm.

I prayed. Really. Prayed. I knew that one of those kids was supposed to be a part of my own family.

In fact, one night I was on the Compassion website and I saw a little girl in a Girl Scout uniform.

Meant to be?

I went back to the site again and saw that she was sponsored- Thank God.

I felt a tugging at my heart and I honestly felt guilty for not letting the tugging pull me in, but somehow I felt like I was supposed to wait...

Then I saw her.

She wore a dress that looked like it was too big for her. She stood straight for the photo, her hair plaited, and she didn't smile. She was a little girl in Haiti who could have been eating cookies made from dirt for dinner. I knew that it was time to let that tugging pull me as far as He wants me to go.

I filled out all of the necessary information, name, address, credit card number. It was all so matter-of-fact for such a profound, important step. One last button was left. I moved my mouse and clicked.

Submit.

Submit is a word that gets a whole lot of bad press in our day. The world tells us that submitting to anything or anyone (except our own desires) is weak, pathetic, behind-the-times.

Let me tell you, friend, once you let go, once you stare into those eyes and let them stare back at you and into your heart, all you want to do is submit. You feel that tugging and you let Him pull you in.

The first time we received a letter from our sponsored child, we were thrilled. I cried when I unfolded her letter. Through an interpreter, the little girl I saw on a website shared her love for Jesus. I treasure all of her letters and drawings.

She is so much like any other 6-year old girl. She needs love. She needs school. She loves crayons. She loves Jesus.

We keep her picture on our refrigerator and when we moved, I placed her picture in a box we always take with us. The box holds our family photos.

Just over a week ago, as Hurricane Ike closed in on the Caribbean, I thought of our sponsored child. I worried over her picture and prayed in His Name. I imagined her huddled in her home with her mother, listening to the howling winds and pounding rain.

In my growing concern for this sweet child was a seed of hope. I knew that through our sponsorship, a Compassion worker was there in Haiti. There when I could not be. There with this little girl and her mother. There in the name of Christ.

They are still there. Compassion workers are reaching out to sponsored children, to hurting families and communities. They are able to do so because people just like you and me let that little tug pull them in. Then they moved their mouse over a button on a website and clicked.

Submit.

9 comments:

Shaun Groves said...

Incredible post! Such a great story teller.

Thank you for using your on-line voice to speak for children. If you ever need anything from Compassion please let me know.

-Shaun Groves
CompassionBloggers.com

Anonymous said...

very moving.............to anyone out there who hasn't sponsored a child, I DARE YOU TO MOVE! You will never regret it.

Grace and Peace

Grafted Branch said...

It's so hard to know who is on the up and up, you know? But you've made me hopeful.

I think I'll check out their site...

Jen said...

Thank you.

Her name is Rose, and she is 6, and she is high-need. I prayed God would speak as I headed over to Compassion's website after reading your blog. And there was Rose (my nickname for my eldest daughter, whose middle name is Rose). Actually, "high-need" was all God needed to say.

You made a difference. Thanks. xox

Pufferfish Mommy said...

Beautiful. We've been sponsoring a little girl in Haiti for a few years now. Her name is mentioned so often in our prayers and conversations that my children think of her as their sister. My husband traveled to Haiti last year and met her in person. He says she is even more beautiful in person, and she gives the best hugs. :)

For us, money is tight.. but less than $40 a month is a very small sacrifice considering what all it does for our sponsored child! Thank you for caring enough to sponsor a child, and for helping to spread the word!

Sarah W. said...

When I read Sophie's and Shannon's blogs, I was too overwhelmed to actually read them. I just could not handle it. In the last few days, my husband and i were thinking about sponsoring a child, but not really being proactive about it.
When I read your post, I called my husband over to the computer. When we looked at the children, we did not even have to think about it. He even said, "I will get another job if I have to. I want to adopt all the children."
Thanks for posting about this. It moved us to do it. I am not trying to give us recognition....only to tell you thank you!!!

Anonymous said...

Riveting. Seriously. I loved your whole story! In particular, when you said submit has become slightly taboo. Funny isn't it? God, who wants nothing but the best for us, thought it up. It's the world and sin that has twisted it into something ugly. God Bless You, Whitney

Chrissy said...

Gorgeous post. Just gorgeous.

Unknown said...

This might seem incredibly belated, but I needed to say thank you for posting. I've revisited this many times...God has used your words to work mightily on my heart!