Her feet walk briskly across the burning red dirt road, with her baby, hanging limp from fever over her shoulder. Only thirteen years older than the child, she walks for miles in the blistering heat to find a doctor.
God have Mercy…
She does not discuss her baby’s father – just wasted words when the air that is already so hot that it takes away your breath and leaves you wanting. So many girls her age have babies in this area of the world. Whether they are pregnant by rape or by the seduction of words that tell them, that just for one night, they are seen, fed…wanted.
Christ have Mercy…
After hours of walking she arrives at the makeshift shelter where a doctor tries to help. Weakly smiling, she takes her seat beside another girl she has come to know. Their babies are the same age. Her friend’s child was conceived when her mother, put the teen on the street to prostitute herself for food, to feed the younger children in the home.
God, have Mercy
So, she prostitutes herself to fill the bellies of starving children, only to add to the bellies that starve, as her mother did before her.
I sit on the couch next to my granddaughter who is about the same age as the girls in Kenya. What if we had not been born to the life we live? What if we had been born in Kenya? Who would help?
So many ask God why he allows such suffering. Perhaps He would return the question, “Why are you allowing such suffering?”
What do I have that could possible help; I don’t have the resources to go there. Not everyone is called to give up their vacations and savings to go to a country where suffering is more than most have ever realized possible.
Yet, they smile. How do you smile when life is so very difficult?
She pulls her baby close and kisses her baby’s forehead, trying to comfort the child.
If we look the other way, if we turn our heads so that our blind side shows, do we understand what Christ did on the Cross? (tweet this) Do we understand the love that gave all, expecting nothing in return?
I squirm uncomfortably in my seat.
When the Mercy House in Kenya, began, one woman asked God, “How can you allow such suffering?”
What she heard back was, “Why, my daughter, do you allow suffering?”
We can make a difference. We have at least a little money, and we have the science and technology. Have we become so narcissist that we believe that it is only for us that medicine and modern transportation were developed?
And really, is the world so big that we don’t see that a woman in another country is still our sister?
Between now and Christmas, I am helping Mercy House raise money to buy a van to take twelve teen mothers to school, the doctor and keep a roof over their heads and to continue hearing the Good News of Christ.
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
linking with Jennifer, Michelle, Emily and Finding heaven today
Latest posts by Diane W. Bailey (see all)
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Beautiful post and pics, Di. What a wonderful ministry Mercy House is! I wonder if the Lord might take you there to see their impact in person??
Such a wonderful ministry to support and advocate for Diana. I pray the van money is raised and much more to fulfill the vision and dreams of the Mercy House ministry.
Thank you, for your encouragement!
Stopping in from Tell Me a Story. This was so beautiful and heart-breaking at the same time. Our church and some friends are in another part of the nation doing similar work. I think about that also – what if I’d been born somewhere else. I thank God for the privileges I have been born into. I pray I make a difference for those who are in need. Blessings to you and Mercy House for the wonderful things you are doing.
Thank you Kim for stopping by and commenting. It is so nice to meet you!
We will see, Susan. Whatever the Lord wants…
What a beautiful reminder. Thank you. Bless your heart.
Hi Diane — thanks so much for these beautifully written words to remind us of the needs we forget. God, have mercy — indeed He does. Visiting from #TellHisStory
oh friend. oh. i have been complaining and whining all day, and this post reminds me i have nothing to complain or whine about. thank you. love you.
Emily, I cannot imagine you ever really whining or complaining! You are joy! And that you could feel the hurt of others shows your tender heart. Love you!