Sorrow to Joy

I never get headaches. But as I came upon the last bit of our 12-hour stay in the Atlanta airport before our first flight to Dubai, I started getting one. I began being plagued with thoughts of all the material comforts I would be missing as I spend two months in India. This being my fourth time in India, I knew that those thoughts were so not like me. I love India. Material comforts are generally the least of my concerns when I’m here. I was under major spiritual attack. Satan was killing my joy.

I prayed against it and had others pray against it as well. As I was on our second flight, from Dubai to Hyderabad, I found myself nearly tearing up with joy at the thought of going back to the place that has captured my heart. Jesus, in His endless faithfulness and goodness, and simply because He loves me and I’m His kid, heard my cry and turned my sorrow into joy. Psalm 30:11 is so true.

After those two flights and a sleepy 6-hour bus ride, my team and I finally made it to the home in which we are staying (complete with running water and air conditioning – such an unexpected blessing!!). We then spent Friday getting acquainted with Ongole and learning about the ministry we’d be doing here with Sarah’s Covenant Homes.

Yesterday (Saturday) was day one of hanging out with the special needs children of SCH. It was hard. The caregivers here are far outnumbered by the kids and simply do not have the time to attend to each child’s specific needs.

Sarala, like many of the 107 children at the home, cannot walk. She is also blind. I was asked to spend time with this seven-ish-year-old girl and help her practice walking. I held her up under her arms and listened to her laugh as I guided her along the hallway. A couple steps and she would get burned out and sit down and resort to her self-soothing sounds and repetitive movements. Patience. Oh, how my Jesus walks so patiently with me as I stubbornly sit down and have to eventually let myself be picked up by Him again.

We broke for lunch. When we returned to the home, I went to set my water bottle in a room, only to find a lame child lying on a bed crying hysterically. Literally weeping. Tears and snot drenched the area around where this twelve-ish-year-old girl’s head was laying, and it was obvious that she hadn’t received affection or attention in a while.

I got a towel to wipe everything from her face and the area on the bed that was wet from weeping. Then, sitting down on the bed, I began scratching the girl’s back. Still weeping. I placed her head in my lap and began to sing over her. Jesus Loves Me, You Hold Me Now, How He Loves, Break Every Chain, Oceans, anything that proclaimed healing or peace or joy. Several other children gathered around as well, and eventually, finally, the tears stopped.

There still wasn’t much of a smile, though. I began speaking identity over this girl, telling her who she is – beautiful, a princess of the King, so dearly loved, created so uniquely with such a profound purpose. Eventually she was smiling. And then laughing. And then hysterically laughing, crying from laughing. Oh, how our God turns our sorrow into joy.

Does she speak English? No. Did I know her name? No. Does that change the power of God’s magnificent truth and love? It most certainly does not.

Since lunch and spending time with Monika (I eventually learned that that was her name), it had been several hours since I had seen Sarala. Going back to where she was lying on her bed, I sat down and said the blind girl’s name. She immediately smiled and laughed and lit up and snuggled up against me and hugged me as best as she could. She knew my voice. She was thrilled to walk with me again. And so we did.

Oh, how our Father tends to us, walks with us, and turns our sorrow into joy. The kids here at Sarah’s Covenant Homes are so precious, and I am tremendously privileged to get to play a part in His plan for them. Being with Sarala and Monika and the other wonderful children here has illustrated so beautifully how God responds to me, His child.

Through our Father’s infinite love and power, I am both seeing and experiencing growth to amazing extents. And this was only day one. Hallelujah.