When a wave of sadness hits.

Early Mother's Day photo with 76 Emseni children, 40 Toddler home children and Spencer. 

 

Two days ago I was overwhelmed by a wave of sadness.  We dropped Spencer off at the Johannesburg airport (after 8 wonderful weeks with us in Swaziland) and while I only shed a few tears at that moment, I got a message before we left the airport that our sweet kitty from back in our Aurora/Alpharetta days, had died.  Her name was Daisy, and she was a stunningly beautiful Bengal who we have missed dearly.

The tears started to flow, but then the phone rang. It was a social welfare officer asking if we had room for three small babies? There was an 8-month-old baby who had been hospitalized for malnutrition and abuse. Then there were two siblings who were being badly abused by their mentally disabled mother.  The 10-week-old baby boy would be thrown on the floor when he cried and the 2-year-old girl was being abused as well. 

I told her we would take them all, hung up the phone, and it hit me.

A wave of sadness washed over me like a tidal wave and I was completely overwhelmed by Spencer and Chloe living a million miles away, my dead cat (who hasn’t lived with me in five years) and the 157 children whose stories are horrific and haunting.  I sat in the passenger seat and cried, while Ian drove us east to the ocean and the sun set behind us.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day, and as the day approaches I am thinking about these things:

·      I am thankful for my 15-year-old birth mother who gave me up for adoption in 1963.

·      I am thankful for my adoptive parents (Bernice and Russ Willis) who gave me every opportunity in the world and showed me how to give generously and love completely.

·      I am thankful for my children, Spencer and Chloe, who have made me the proudest mom in the whole world. They give generously, and love completely.

·      I am thankful for (and overwhelmed by) by the 157 Swazi children who now call me Mom. 

Last Sunday at Children’s Church I was presented the most amazing gift by the staff and children at Project Canaan. They knew I was going to be dropping Spencer off in South Africa, and then head away for a quiet weekend in Durban, so they gave me an early Mother’s Day gift. It is a painting of tree that has each and EVERY SINGLE child and baby’s thumb print.  In the bottom right corner you will see the color legend that shows which colors represent which children’s home. 

There are 155 little thumb prints that make up this beautiful painting.

Yes, I stood in front of them all and cried, but they were not tear of sadness, rather they were tears of pure joy.  I stand amazed at the mosaic of circumstances and people that the Lord has brought together to create the most beautiful picture at Project Canaan, and I am humbled to be a part of it.

Please shop on the Heart for Africa Amazon Baby Registry today by clicking on http://bit.ly/2017diaperdrive  in the US and http://bit.ly/2017diaperdrivecanada in Canada.  We have a lot of babies who have been given the gift of life, and now they need the gift of diapers, wipes and a table to eat at.  Please shop generously, and maybe buy your mom a gift for Mother’s Day too! I promise she will love it!

Live from Durban… Happy Mother's Day.

Janine