Submitted by Sarah…Ministering to the children at the Salvation Army on Valentine’s Day was like a breath of fresh air to me – I was in the midst of struggling with pitying myself for some issues I’ve been facing at home and work, but I had such a blessed time talking to some of the kids there that shifted my perspective from one of blame to thankfulness and love. There was one 13-year old girl, T, who was watching her younger brothers. I was sitting by her and her baby brother when Irene announced that we’d be playing Ninja; her eyes lit up, and she gingerly told me that she knew how to play. At first she wouldn’t leave her baby brother, but when we encouraged her that we would watch him. She went in to play and was finally laughing as she played.
Later I was talking to her and asked her about her dad, who she doesn’t remember since he left long ago. “Does your mom get sad?” I asked, and she nodded her head slowly. “What do you do when that happens?” “She cries, and I cry with her,” she answered. She also told me that she loves taking care of her siblings, and helping her mom around the house – her favorite chore is sweeping and least favorite is dishes. The siblings are three boys and one girl (just like me!), with just their mom to take care of them all. Her mom is indeed loving, strict, and very sad – when I met her later, she talked about how all her daughter’s friends have boyfriends and T needs to “finish school and be independent before she can worry about any of that.”
The world is so broken and relationships and trusts are broken so easily by sinful people. I have a family, was well provided for, and most of all, I remembered that I wanted to tell her, tell them all the very thing that I myself am continually learning and need to cling to – that I have a trustworthy Father in heaven who loves me deeply, who made me and has a wonderful purpose for me… therein lies my security. I’m hardly a worthy person to be sharing this with her, nor have I fully grasped the truth and extent of God’s love for me yet, but I hope that one day T and her whole family do find security in our Heavenly Father. So thankful for this opportunity on Valentine’s Day!
