Pieces of My Heart

 Once again I have managed to ignore this blog many months. Life...'nuff said!

However, I am prompted now to write down some thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head the last few days. Maybe it's retirement or maybe because I have been reacquainted with some former students lately but for whatever reason I find myself being nostalgic about the impact having been involved with children for 40+ years has had on me.

Despite having participated in hundreds of children's lives over the years, there are certain ones that take up residence in my heart and never really leave. Children who have lost a parent to the ravages of cancer. Children being fostered and later adopted because of abuse or neglect in their young lives. Children with so much baggage from their past that they shouldn't even be functioning. Children with life threatening illnesses. And then there are those with such unique personalities you can't help but remember them with a smile. 

These children I have been able to cry with, laugh with, pray with, reason with, and sometimes practice tough love with but have always done so out of a passion for them to succeed not only in this life but eternally. 

Some of these children I have been able to remain connected with through school, church or social media. Some I have lost contact with and wonder often about their futures. Many have gone on to have families of their own and are leading them in a Godly lifestyle. These cause me to experience a sense of pride that rarely extends beyond immediate family and I can't help but rejoice when they are able to rise above their grief or past.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn. I know that God placed me in their lives at a certain time and in a certain way to accomplish His purposes and don't even pretend to assume it was my own strength or wisdom. 

So, other than walking down memory lane, what can be learned from all this? 

I think that Jesus feels the same way with us. He knows our pain, our grief, our baggage and willingly gets into the middle of our mess if we ask Him to. He cries with us, laughs with us and yes, sometimes has to practice tough love to get us to where we can surrender to His will. 

And because of all that, we can be assured that we too hold a special place in Jesus' heart. Now and forever. I don't know about you but that comforts me in a way that nothing else can. 

I've got other things rattling around so I might be back on before 2026. Merry Christmas everyone!