Christmas Time is Here

The day before Christmas Eve. 

As I decorate Christmas cookies, I listen to “Christmas Time is Here”. I listen and watch, as my children who are former orphans attempt to sing along, each in his or her own way. Once dances, one rocks, one chants. It has taken years to reach this point. 

And my heart aches.

It aches because I am reminded of all the children who are NOT celebrating Christmas because they have no family. 

Kids right here, in my world. 

In your world. 

In my country. 

In your country. 

In my state. 

In your state. 

In my town. 

In your town. 

In my neighborhood. 

In your neighborhood. 

They are everywhere. 

They are in institutions. 

They are in hospitals. 

They are in foster care. 

They are on the streets. 

Some are now legal adults who never found acceptance into a family. They will belong to no-one until they create their own.

Chances are as you walk through Target, rushing to complete your last-minute shopping, you are passing a foster child who is "faking it" again this year, because they have no family. If they were really lucky last year, they received a gift, which has likely disappeared in yet another transfer to yet another foster home. They refuse to get their hopes up about what this Christmas will or won't bring.

No, we cannot fix all the broken pieces of a child’s heart and spirit. What is visible to us is only the tip of the iceberg of a child’s brokenness. So much hides underneath!  We can put bandaids on the wounds we find, help them heal as much as possible, but the scars will always remain. It is never easy. It is always hard. Life altering events are like that. 

All you have to do is open a door. 

We have room here. 

Do you?