A mother with AID's and her baby

Yesterday, while I was at church, I saw something that was precious.    The pastor had invited people who needed prayer to come forward and the leaders of the church would pray for their needs.  I was sitting on stage at the piano and watched as many lined up for prayer.  Our church is full of brokenness so this did not surprise me.  I then saw one man carrying what I thought was a child.  As the man turned toward me I realized he was holding an older woman.  This woman was frail, possibly sick, and disabled.  She could not have weighed more than 50-60 pounds.  I watched them with curiosity and I realized that this was a son holding his frail mother.  He had carried her forward so that our pastor could pray for her.  I was reminded of the book, “I’ll Love You Forever”.  It’s a children’s book about a mother holding her baby and as he grows, she continues to remind her boy that she will love him forever, no matter what.  In the end, the son is holding his elderly mother saying the same thing (a tear jerker of a book).   The book depicts the love relationship of a mother and child and their dependency on one another.  

Often we see mothers holding their children, but it’s not everyday you see a son holding his mother.  I thought about this mother and I tried to imagine what she was thinking and feeling.  There was no pride in this woman, only humility, as she completely depended on her son to lift her forward to receive prayer.  Like the paralytic man in the bible depended on his friends to be lifted down from the ceiling for Christ’s healing, this woman, in all humility depended on her son to bring her forward   Alone, without her son, she would not have been able to come forward.

God made us to be in relationship with others.  He designed us to depend on others to survive in this world.  A child depends on its mother for food, nurturing and love, and the elderly rely on others to help them when they are no longer able to care for their own needs. 

What about the poor in this world?  Who do they depend on?  When a mother can’t feed her children, who does she turn to?  How about children who have lost their parents to AIDS, who will carry them?

Next week I will have the opportunity to travel to Ecuador with Compassion International.  I will be helping with a trip for seven pastors and their wives.  I will again see the worlds poorest, those that cannot carry themselves but need the help of others.   Each day 25,000 children die of preventable causes.  Children that simply needed someone to carry them to Jesus. 

As I frequently do, I invite you to sponsor a child with Compassion International.  You can be that person that carries a child to Jesus.  It’s a $38 a month commitment.

 Last night my 10 year old daughter thanked God for allowing her to meet the children in Kenya.  She said it touched her heart and changed her.  She said that she wants God to speak through her to help more kids. I couldn’t agree more with this prayer, thus I had to speak up today and invite you to sponsor a child.