Prayers for Haiti. Prayers for America.

I was watching the news today and was amazed at the outpore of love and generosity and outreach towards Haitian people who are suffering from the devestation of one of the largest earthquakes in history. And then they showed something that was as awesome as it was sad... the number of Indiana Families who have submitted their names to accept orphan-refugees into their homes for adoption. So many that the state has stopped accepting names. We have more families available than we have children in need. That's unheard of. But it makes me wonder why, if there are such an overflow, we have so many children right here in Indiana waiting for loving homes.

Children such as those shown here: http://www.in.gov/dcs/2730.htm The very concept of the website saddens me. It's almost as if we're "showcasing" children, painting them in the best light possible without being downright dishonest. It all feels more like a car dealership than a child welfare system. Perhaps it's because of my job (after all, I've worked very closely with three of the kids on that list) but I have to sit back and reflect on the meaning and success of child welfare in this country.

Welfare [ Wel"fare, n.] Definition: Well-doing or well-being in any respect; the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life; exemption from any evil or calamity; prosperity; happiness.

I'll bet these kids might come up with a different meaning. I worked with one such kiddo as he told his adoptive parents goodbye for the last time because they decided they didn't want him anymore. He was 12, and he'd been with them since he was 2. I still cringe thinking about the weeks that followed. So many mornings were spent holding this screaming/hitting/angry kid tightly to you until he just disintegrated into this weeping child who, all of the sudden, was the one holding on. "Who's gonna want me now?"

Folks are so afraid to take these kids in for fear of the risks. And there are risks. These are not bad kids. And they don't all come from bad families. They ARE however badly broken. That brokenness shows itself in a whole multitude of ways. But I sure hope someone educates people on the same type of risks and truama's the Hatian kids endure- otherwise my fear is that they will simply be added to that website above at some point. Ironically, one of the biggest mistakes I see is that people think they can just "love them enough". Which, in a sense, is true- but not in the way we usually think. Then when these kids can't or don't respond the way we think they should (after, of course, we've loved them enough), we're ready to give them back. We don't realize that it's the child who gets to decide what is "enough". Enough to trust. Enough to love back. Enough to let their guard down.

And here's the clincher- the thing that truly breaks my heart: if I have this reaction to watching the available families on the news, what in the world must these kids be feeling?

I'm not pointing fingers, I know there are no good answers- but my prayer is that somehow, despite all of the evidence to the contrary, our Lord works his miracles and shows these children their true worth in His eyes so that they can reciprocate on His love and find an everlasting home far greater than anything they will ever know on this earth.