Waiting to Bloom

 

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up all their wounds.”*

Just before Mother’s Day, Al and I were introduced to the teenaged girl we help sponsor at a children’s home in Oaxaca, Mexico. We met May (her nickname) via a conference call online. After corresponding with her by email for about 2 years, the zoom session was almost as good as meeting in person. With the young lady in charge of sponsorship interpreting for us, we conversed, laughed and shared stories.

 May mentioned that she was going to be dancing at a special Mother’s Day event at the mission.

“I hope they like it,” she said with a laugh! “I’m not a good dancer!”

 She didn’t explain who “they” referred to, perhaps the housemothers, each of whom cares for a small group of children.

May’s mother and grandmother live about eight hours away from the mission, near the ocean. The initial letter we received as sponsors indicated that alcohol abuse was prevalent in the family and that it was not a healthy environment for May.

In earlier emails, she had shared that her younger brothers and sisters were adopted by other families; however, she had gone to government homes until referred to the mission home in Oaxaca by social services. “…the four of them don’t know they are siblings. Only I know.” A heavy burden for a sixteen-year-old to carry.

 After our zoom session, she wrote that the dance “turned out great” and that although she was nervous about the “jump” she had to do, it turned out well! A jump? We hadn’t heard about that!

Not only does she have a lot of energy, May also has talent. In that same correspondence, she mentioned that she had been asked to create a rap for Student’s Day at her school. We hadn’t heard about Student’s Day either… something else to inquire about in our next correspondence. Maybe she will even share the rap with us if we should video conference again!

Another of her talents is art, as evidenced on nearly every letter we have received through the mail. One drawing featuring a large flower with bright yellow petals was quite intriguing. What were those other shapes? A window? Rock? Heart? Table?

 It took weeks for May to respond to my query about it: “I will be honest that I don’t know the meaning of my drawing. Actually, it was a drawing I saw on the internet that I replicated in my style and that’s how it turned out. But if you ask me personally, the flower represents life and the heart  is like the difficulties and even though they’re exhausting, life goes on and we need to be strong. This inspired me while we stayed at home during the pandemic.”

On an “All About Me!” sheet that we received through sponsorship, her favorite quote from the Bible was Psalm 27:10: “Though my father and mother forsake me the Lord will receive me.” This was touching, since I had written May’s name beside that very same verse in the margin of my Bible several months earlier! I’m sure that she has experienced the feelings of being abandoned by her parents and has longed for a “forever” family.

Our time talking with May helped us to know her better. She has gone through trauma and abuse but now has hope for a brighter future. According to a staff member “We are thankful to have May at our home. We pray that she will come to know Jesus intimately and learn to trust him with all her heart. We pray that she will grow up healthy and secure here and that she will lean on Jesus to guide her and heal her.”

Perhaps now in a more nurturing environment, with a compassionate housemother and staff, she’ll come to know the deep and tender love that the Lord has for her. Hopefully she’ll experience healing from the past and catch a vision of what lies ahead. I pray so!

*Psalm 147:3 NIV

 

“Winter’s Flower” inspired by May’s drawing…

Can a sunflower bloom in the winter

and stay fresh through the cold and the snow?

Will the sun shine through a window

making its yellow petals glow?

Can a young girl bloom in a solitary world

facing her giants all alone?

Will she find her path, face towards the sun

and ever stronger grow?

With God’s help, she’ll know the answers…

Yes, she shall surely know.

( JLL revised 6-21-23)