Kings and Queens...Princesses and Princes

This morning as I opened my eyes to a brand new day, my mind was filled with the lyrics to a song that has somewhat remained etched in my heart these past few weeks.  It's a song by one of my favorite bands, Audio Adrenaline, called "Kings and Queens."  My Dad had heard it on the radio awhile back and asked if I had heard it.  At that time, I hadn't.  Several weeks later, I can't get the song out of my head...and I am not sure that I ever want it out of my head.  It has not only served as a reminder of what we are called to do as God's people, but it has hit home in a way that I would have never imagined, as Nate and I prepare our hearts for the first time we will meet little Baby B in Ethiopia.  Part of the lyrics say this:


Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me
Will we leave behind the innocent too brief
On their own, on the run when their lives have only begun
These could be our daughters and our sons
And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating
I know my God won’t let them be defeated
Every child has a dream to belong and be loved
[Chorus:]
Boys become kings, girls will be queens
Wrapped in Your majesty
When we love, when we love the least of these
Then they will be brave and free
Shout your name in victory
When we love when we love the least of these


The past several years of my life, I have had the privilege of visiting several orphanages in Honduras.  As I was journaling this morning, I looked up at this huge collage my sister had given me for Christmas that had pictures of so many of the children we have met in those places.  No matter how often we return, the need is overwhelming and our hearts continue to break in those places.  This past March, we had the opportunity to do a Vacation Bible School in one of the children's orphanages.  As we were singing, I looked at the faces of so many children who seemed to have been forgotten.  We watched as a little girl with down-syndrome, about the age of 5 or 6, begged the men to dance with her throughout the VBS songs.  I colored with a set of twins who were 10 years old, who had been dropped off at the orphanage just a few months earlier.  While I do not know their story, I know that they have a desire to be loved and belong.

I have three nieces who I consider to be "princesses" in the world.  As a family, we love them unconditionally  and think the world of them.  I also have 3 nephews who in a sense are our "little princes."  As a family, we do everything we can to love them unconditionally and we think the world of them.  I now have a son who is half way around the world, living in an orphanage until we can come and get him.  While he has just turned 5 months and is probably not deeply aware of the setting he finds himself in, I still wonder...does he know he is a king?

"Every child has a dream to be loved and belong."  It's not unusual for me to see the faces of so many of the children we have met in the orphanages of Honduras, in my mind as I go about my day.  While I do not know each of their stories, I do know that every little girl desires in her heart of hearts to be a princess and every little boy desires to be a king.  We are called to love.  We are called to have our hearts broken for the things that break the heart of God.  And we are called to respond.


Nate and I could have never imagined the crazy story that would unfold when we allowed our hearts to be broken for the things God cares about.  It still completely blows us away to think about it.  But my prayer this morning is that the breaking wouldn't stop with one adoption of a little baby boy half way around the world.  My prayer is that God would not let us forget the faces and the stories of so many kids we have met and he would continue to call us into action.  In the mean time, we are preparing to bring home one of God's little Kings, one who we believe has not been forgotten.


Comments

  1. Barb FischerApril 29, 2013 at 10:09 AM

    This is such a beautiful song & I am so glad that you shared this with us - along with your entire story (up-til-now) in completing your family!!! Can't wait to hear more over the coming months and years to come!!! I love the bookmark and say a prayer whenever I glance at it (many-many times each day).
    Love you both & your growing family!!! Barb

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Donut Story

Image
When I was about five years into being a Youth Pastor, I met a group of kids that changed my life.  Many of you reading this, who know me personally, have probably heard me talk about them numerous times.  Nate and I happened to live in the parsonage next door to the church I was serving at at the time, and would routinely come home to a group of boys that I would have described then as "rough around the edges."   They dressed mostly in black, had long hair, and sometimes even had black painted fingernails.  They loved to smoke, and they loved to skateboard.  After a few days of watching them through our window, Nate and I went outside and brought them some sodas.  We introduced ourselves, told them I was the Youth Pastor at the church, and invited them to come to youth group.  While they politely declined our invitation, we continued to invite them over and over again, attempted to skate with them, and fill them with snacks.  Until one day, ...
Read more

A Mother's Heart...

Image
It was the night before we were ready to leave for Ethiopia that it dawned on me. We hadn’t given the necklace to Biruk yet. When we had exchanged necklaces with his birth mom ten years prior at the orphanage, we had no idea when we would give it to him. We just knew that we wanted him to be old enough to appreciate it, as it would be the only thing he would have from her. We had no idea if we would ever see her again.  There have been several moments in our journey where I’ve had to pinch myself, because it has felt like I was dreaming. That night as we put our final things in our suitcases, took a deep breath, and came to the realization that we were not only taking our kids to Ethiopia, but that Biruk would in fact meet his birth mom…well, you had to pinch me, because it felt like I was dreaming. It also felt like the perfect moment to share this gift that we had been holding onto for 10 years. So we pulled out the necklace and gave it to Biruk. While words can be few and...
Read more

Stories Matter

Image
Yesterday, my family and I found ourselves at a local elementary school’s culture club, presenting about our trip to Ethiopia. Even as I write those words, it kind of blows my mind how God has continued to use our story in unexpected places. When the kids were old enough to understand, we began to talk about taking them back to their birth country when they turned 10. We figured at 10, they would be old enough to be pretty good travelers, but still approach the adventure with a childlike wonder. What we didn’t plan on, was that the year Biruk turned 10 would come on the heels of me taking a brand new job, our family moving to a new state, and buying our very first house, in an economy that felt as though it was tanking!  I remember talking to my counselor one day and sharing with him that while we had always promised this trip to our kids, it just didn’t seem to make financial sense. After all, last time I checked, Southwest Airlines does not travel to Africa. He said someth...
Read more