infinite value

The value of a life. How is it determined?

In our society, is great value found in the person who gains the highest grades in class?

Or could it be found most in the man who runs the fastest mile?

Or do we find value in the woman who has achieved much?

Or the one adorned with beauty?

Ashamedly, there was once a time in my life when I used to think all those things.

Success and achievement equaled great value.

That was…until the day that God got a hold of my heart and showed me true value.

Infinite value.

Godly value.

The inestimable value of every child and every person on the planet.

Value…simply because we are.

Value because we are created in the very image of a Father in heaven who adores and treasures each and every individual as His own.

No matter our abilities.

Or lack thereof.

We are His delight, His handiwork.

And He never makes mistakes!

The longer I journey with the Lord, and the more I yield myself to His perfect will for my own life, the more I am beginning to get it so deep down in my own heart.

And He is using the gift of children who come from unimaginable places to show me His heart, His compassion, and what true value is in this life.

The journey to bring Hasya home has stretched and challenged me more than any of our other adoptions. I am human. Suffering and heartache just about rip my heart out. I hate seeing injustice. Seeing children suffer at the hands of man breaks my heart in two. Watching little ones struggling to overcome humongous obstacles is gut-wrenching.

And then God called us to walk.

And trust Him explicitly!

With our fears, concerns, feeling of inadequacy to do the job well, constant awareness of our failings as humans and as parents…

We walked forward!

To her.

It is with tears in my eyes that I write this.

A very little girl lies beside me on the bed. Sucking on her tiny, calloused hands, she’s content for now. Adjustment to life outside of the bars of a crib is hard, and it takes time.

Large brown eyes scan the room—one going this way, the other going that way due to untreated strabismus. A massive belly as hard as rock. Painfully skinny legs and stick-thin arms which struggle to move. The inability to even sit up alone. Muscles so contracted and stiff, she can no longer move very much. Constant refluxing. Teeth so crooked and caked with plaque—the smell unbearable.

I stare at her—taking in her absolute beauty. And one word comes to mind.

VAUABLE!

She is more valuable than precious gold and great riches.

She is more valuable than all earthly possessions and any American dream fulfilled.

This precious little girl, who has been imprisoned in a crib for almost fifteen long years, is beyond priceless.

(Yes, that is how her toes have grown and her ankles point downward–no longer able to bend)

She is a gift from heaven.

And my heart cannot stop praising and thanking God for choosing me—the person who believed that I just could never do this job. The woman who once believed that raising a child such as this was for other people, never me.

The person who once saw value in outer appearance, achievement, and the ability to do well.

Oh, how wrong I was!

Today this fragile life which lies beside me is already teaching me many things and is showing me once again what is important as we journey through life. I look at this broken, wounded little being and I am reminded once again that every child is worth the fight, the effort, the sleepless nights, the time on our knees begging God to intervene in their lives, the fundraising efforts to rescue them from faraway lands, the lengths we go to so we can be their biggest cheerleaders and their loudest advocates.