Waking Up

Today, on our way home from church, Lynleigh and I were listening to my ipod.  The song "Slumber" by Need to Breathe came on and as I listened to the words, it really got me to thinking about CHC's orphan ministry.


Days they force you
Back under those covers
Lazy mornings they multiply
But glory's waiting
Outside your window
So wake on up from your slumber
And open up your eyes

Tongues are violent
Personal and focused
Tough to beat with
Your steady mind
But hearts are stronger after broken
So wake on up from your slumber
And open up your eyes

"But hearts are stronger after broken."  Is that true?  Absolutely!  I think back to last summer when we were "patiently" waiting for our Letter of Acceptance from the People's Republic of China and how heart broken I was that my baby was sitting in an orphanage while here at home, life was going on as normal!  I use the word patiently lightly because in reality, I wasn't patient at all!  From the day I laid eyes on Lynleigh Ren, my heart was broken for her!  I couldn't fathom one more day of being with out her and the thought of her sitting there waiting for us was unbearable!
All these victims
Stand in line for
The crumbs that fall from the table
Just enough to get by
All the while
Your invitation
Wake on up from your slumber
Come on open up your eyes
I don't know what life was like for her in the orphanage but I do know she was hungry and very skinny!  "Just enough to get by."  My baby lived almost two years with just enough to get by and here we all sit in a world where our next meal is in our oven or the local drive through.  Now that my eyes are open and I'm officially awake to this worldly issue, how can I even think about not becoming a voice?

I'm so grateful that God has opened this door for ministry in my church.  Since we have been home with Lynleigh, two teams have visited two different countries in an effort to minister to orphans.  When God wants you to have a focus, He makes the way!  This is a slow process but I know that in the end, God's glory will be celebrated each time another family brings home an orphan or opens their home to a foster kid.  My challenge for you today is this: where do you fit in?  James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  That's not a suggestion...it's God's word!  Wake up from your slumber...open up your eyes!

-Tobie Pillstrom