If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you probably
remember my heartbreaking devastation when I found out the financial
sponsor of my 14 year old Shoa, dropped her sponsorship. Through this
experience God taught me many things, and I believe thankfulness to be
on the top. Making it equally appropriate to share with you today.
You
see, I was grateful for the opportunity Compassion provided me through
their correspondence program, to write with children who's sponsors
elected not to write and to have someone else write on their behalf. But
I don't believe I fully understood the second half of my previous
statement. I knew I was writing to kids who's sponsors didn't. And some
of those heartbreaking stories you hear on OurCompassion, like a
sponsored child never once receiving a letter in the 7 years of
sponsorship, made me mad. I had one of the correspondent kids, and was
heartbroken when I found out...and yes, mad. But it wasn't until the
last few weeks that God revealed and changed me heart.
My heart
sunk when I learned my dear Shoa, whom I had been writing on behalf of
her financial sponsor for the past two plus years, was no longer
sponsored by him. I didn't think it possible for me to keep her, and
again, I was almost mad at this thought, of loosing this poor child.
Don't get me wrong, my motives weren't all about me, I was concerned for
her and the new relationship she would have to build with someone who
may or may not take the time to invest in this precious life who endured
so much loss. But my heart was not all in the right spot either.
As
others, you, my blog readers, banded together on behalf of this pretty
special young lady, God started to show me something. And as I started
to glean from it, I was amazed and overjoyed at what God choose to teach
me through what I thought to be an awful situation. The scripture that
comes to mind, is "all things work together for the good, for those who
love God and are called according to His purpose." Because that's
exactly what God did for Shoa.
And as God worked He showed me how
Shoa's financial sponsor gave me so much more than I can ever imagine
in that two plus years he allowed me to correspond with her. And he gave
Shoa an opportunity for so much more. God knew that when He partnered
Shoa up with me, He was growing a bond, that would not easily be broken.
A bond that says, I will stand in the gap, and do all I can for you,
even if it means I cannot do anything more for you, than help you find a
new sponsor.
Through my experience of losing a correspondent
child, God showed me that these financial sponsors often give more
than those who sponsor and faithfully write their own children. Those
who have kids in the correspondence program get NOTHING in return,
besides knowing they are making a change for eternity. (don't get me
wrong, that's extremely important, but not tangible here on earth) Those
financial sponsors are not only giving the gift of sponsorship to a
child in need, but giving us, who correspond on their behalf, the gift
of another precious relationship with a child living in poverty.
No words of thanks can begin to express my gratitude, both for me, and
for the life changing gift they are giving to the child they sponsor. I
don't know if I could give quite as much as they do. They do is
selflessly. And here I am worried I may lose another of my
correspondence kids. It changes my perspective a little bit. Because I
know Compassion International could not do what they do, to release
children from poverty, without selfless sponsors like them.
So, if
you sponsor a child through Compassion, I know that child is truly
thankful from the bottom of their heart, for you choosing them. And if you
correspond on behalf of a financial sponsor, I pray you are truly
thankful from the bottom of your heart for the gift not only your child
has been provided through sponsorship, but honestly and sincerely
thankful for the gift that their sponsor has provided YOU!
And for those of you taking this journey with Shoa and I...Ameseginalehu (Amharic for thank you)
