Children

Kids around here are treated differently. There are so many that get lost, get ignored, get neglected. They go unbathed. Unloved. Misunderstood. Preciousness of life is overlooked.I live in a place where baby boys are considered much more valuable than baby girls. Kids are sometimes treated just plain ugly. A very common game parents play is to purposely take food or water away from the baby so that they start to cry. Or they "pretend' to slap or beat the baby. Or sometimes they really DO slap the babies. From day one, the baby learns hardness.

And then sometimes, they have pretty loving homes. Its just that the parents don't have the resources to adequately care of their little ones. Recently, a mom asked me to help her figure out the dose of her baby's TB medicine. She can't read and I am sure the doctor didn't bother to explain things to her. I squinted at the directions in a dimly lit room. I couldn't imagine not knowing how to give a very important medicine to my sick baby.

Of course there are good stories too. I also have friends who are totally devoted to their little ones and give them every possible opportunity they can. My friend has a one year old and often asks me why he can't speak English yet. And I say "well..he's one...he can't really speak any language yet". Or other kids, like the one in this picture, have opportunities to go to school whereas before they had never had the chance.

So, as children wander through my life, I try to love on them the best way I can. I pat the hand of a 2 year old instead of slapping. I stroke the face of a baby girl and tell her she is beautiful. In reality, I know I can't really make that big of a difference. I guess I hope that they can somehow hold onto those little moments of gentleness. And when I look into their faces, I remember..they are precious in His sight.