A drop in the ocean . . .

We had our second Metro Kidz at Thomasville yesterday, and our Easter Egg hunt this Sunday - so that means lots of time with lots of the kiddos (which I love!) But it turned into one of those times where I felt overwhelmed by the depth of the kids' needs. This week, there are two boys (brothers) involved in our ministry whose mother was stabbed to death; this week, one of my girls (she's about 8 years old) came to me and told me that when her mom gets stressed out, she asks her daughter to bring her weed to "calm her down"; this week, two ten year old kids were fascinated by the fact that I had 2 wedding rings, and when I explained that one was my engagement ring, they asked in bewilderment: "engagement? what's that?"; this week, the kids love trying to name my baby for me (they come up with names like Santicia, DeMario and Breunshay) and in an effort to match their names with the baby's last name, they asked what my last name was - when I replied, they quickly clarified by saying: "no I mean what's your baby daddy's last name?" . . . I could go on and on with sad/touching/heartbreaking stories about the life these kids face everyday. The truth is, as a friend pointed out this week, sometimes it feels like I'm just a "drop in an ocean."

But then in the midst of my discouragement, the Lord has given me brilliant moments of hope and encouragement. Like this Sunday during the Easter Egg hunt, one of the moms told me that her little boy (Steven) went the wrong way and didnt find a single one of the 3500 eggs scattered around the park. When the other kids found out, they all gave him some of their eggs -- one of the oldest boys even put a dollar in one of his eggs and give it to Steven - I was so proud of my kiddos!

And then later that day, the Lord revealed what it is that most of these kids are really missing: the chance to just be kids . . . They're so busy being tough, looking out for themselves and their little brothers and sisters, that they dont even get to experience the joy and innocence of childhood. But on Sunday I was watching some of the kids play on the playground, each of them eagerly clamoring for me to watch them on the monkey bars, or go down the slide - and they would grin in delight when I exclaimed that I had never seen better climbing or sliding -- and I realized that's exactly what we are giving these kids at Metro Kidz: a chance to enjoy being kids!

So thank-you kids for reminding me of why I do this, and thank-you Lord for encouraging me with Mother Theresa's reminder that "we can do no great things, only small things with great love."