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My heart is heavy and I'm feeling completely helpless. My emotions have been tapped out in a matter of just a few days. I've heard stories and witnessed transformations that so stirred my heart that I thought I might jump out of my skin. My prayers have come out in hurried, jumbled exclamations because I have had an awakening that I cannot contain. I can no longer sit still. I am antsy, wringing my hands and wracking my brain as to what my plan of action must be. There are so many souls, so little time. You see, just this weekend I was invited to lead worship for an Adoption Expo outside of Winston-Salem, NC, but little did I know the impressionable mark it would leave on me. I have always been an advocate for adoption (after all, it's been in my blood ever since my parent's adopted 3 boys from the foster care system in NC...3 boys that I will forever call my brothers) but over the last few days, God has revealed to me His heart and intentionality and purpose for the fatherless like never before. It was like someone switched on a light bulb in my soul and as I continue to study God's word, the light is only becoming stronger and brighter. My impulse is to find out how to adopt as many children as possible as soon as possible, and while there may come a time for that, I am now trying to quiet all my thoughts and listen for His voice. I must sit in the presence of my Lord and be still. He has spoken in thunder, and now I need to see through the clouds. Until He moves me in a direction, I will wait and trust.

The longer I wait on Him to whisper His wisdom, the more He is breaking my heart for His orphans. They are His, He knows their names. Not one of them goes unnoticed or unloved by the Father who holds the world in His hands. He has numbered the hairs on each head of these precious ones, even if no one around them shows them compassion or gives them the time of day or offers a cup of cold water in Jesus' name. These orphans are special in the eyes of God and He sees beyond color, race, social background, disability, disease, and age. He only sees that they are His sons and daughters, created in His image for a glorious purpose. Does He need us to solve the orphan crisis in the world? After all, there are over 143 million orphans all across the globe. Surely He's given out of resources to care for every child in need. On the contrary, my friend. God is in need of nothing. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Everything we see and have comes from Him. He could snap HIs fingers and the world would be no more. Yet a grave emergency lingers, one that has to do with the lives of 143 million people. God, in His sovereignty, has put us here on this earth for more than mere existence. He has called us to offer ourselves (that includes our time, money, resources, energy, and hearts) to those in need. We have the privilege of serving the least of these, those abandoned and rejected by society and even their own parents, many orphaned by the spreading HIV/AIDS epidemic and left to fend for themselves at a young age. God has handed us the opportunity of a lifetime, to discover a higher and more important agenda...one that has nothing to do with our comfort and everything to do with our transformation...to embrace these little ones and love them like Jesus.

Whether you can open your wallet or open your home, whether you hit your knees or grab a mic and challenge your local church body, we must DO SOMETHING. You may be in a situation that is bleak and difficult, convinced that you have nothing left for someone else, much less your own family, but trust me when I say that you will receive an eternal blessing that far outweighs your circumstances just by being willing and saying to Jesus, "Here am I." God can use the most meager of offerings and the most humble of hearts. That's what He is looking for. You don't have to find a cure for AIDS...simply be obedient to what the Lord has placed upon your heart. He will equip you for the task He has called you to. Let's rise up, Church. The time is now. If we don't meet the needs of a hurting, dying world then who will? We are Christ's body, His hands and feet, and we have been blessed with the knowledge of HIs grace and mercy in our own lives. How then, can we ignore the cries of the fatherless? May we learn to show the same mercy to these little ones that God has shown to us. We simply must. Their lives depend on it.

*If you're looking for a ministry to get involved in that cares for orphans visit hopegivers.org. Also, I recommend the book Red Letters by Tom Davis for a clearer picture of the desperate situation the majority of the world is in as well as other practical ways to get involved in extending Christ's love to the poor.*