I met the “star” sponsored child yesterday. You know the one
– pretty, intelligent, very friendly, warm and welcoming. The one that everyone
wants to sponsor. We were working on Christmas projects, and she was the only
one who voluntarily drew some pictures and made her card special for each of
her sponsors. I understand why she is the one chosen; after all, she was the
one I enjoyed working with the most.
Then there is my new sponsored child, Carolina. My other
girl, Limberlyn, graduated from high school last spring and has moved on from
the sponsorship program. Being here in the DR has some advantages. I have
gotten to know more of the children and could choose which new child I wanted
to sponsor. Except, I didn’t really choose. You see, I found myself looking for
the cute little girl, the one who was friendly and easy to be with. There were
a couple that I had in mind, but God put another girl on my heart. She isn’t overly
friendly. She doesn’t smile a lot. She isn’t particularly attractive. She
doesn’t like school and is often absent when we go to do projects. She didn’t
fit the picture of the child I wanted.
I argued with God a little about this. I asked about the
others and pointed out which ones I liked. I really didn’t want a difficult
child, but I couldn’t get this girl off my mind. Finally, I wrote the names of
all the little girls without sponsors on slips of paper, put them in a bowl and
shook them up. I meant to draw one out, but one paper jumped out of the bowl. Yep,
it was Carolina. That was a fluke. I planned to draw one out. I put it back in
and shook them a little again just to mix them up. Another paper popped out.
Before I even looked, I knew it was Carolina.
God is so patient with us. He lets us argue and try to
figure out how to get our way. He listens to all our reasoning and
rationalizations. I imagine He was somewhat amused by my feeble attempt to get
around what He was telling me to do. But He is God and He does make His will
clear to us. Then it is up to us to choose – will we follow or not? Carolina is
my new, chosen sponsored child. I will love her and pray for her and spend time
with her whenever I can. Hopefully, with God’s love and attention, my love and
attention, the love and attention of those at the school, she will be transformed
into one of those little girls everyone wants to sponsor. But, if not, she will
still be mine.
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I wrote this post last October, but it never made it to my
blog. I don’t really know why. I guess it just felt a little risky. But the
question has come up again, at least in my mind. Why is it that some kids are
fully sponsored and could actually have 2 or 3 times the number of sponsors
allowed while others never have that chance?
I suspect I know why, and I’m not pointing fingers. If you
read the above, you know I am just as human as anyone. Remember what God told
Samuel when Samuel was to anoint a king for Israel? “But the Lord
said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because
I have rejected him. For the Lord
sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the Lord
looks at the heart.’”
(I Sam 16:7)
As I sit here and think of all the shy, plain, difficult
children who are in our programs, I want to challenge all of us to follow
God’s instructions – don’t look at the outward appearance, instead listen to
God’s heart and choose a child based upon what you hear from Him.
