Still, I want to tell you all about a morning that became the highlight of the trip for me….
On Wednesday mornings Bethany Christian Centre puts on an outreach intended for toddlers and their moms. Every Wednesday the church floods with over 150 screaming kids. Our outreach team was simply asked to interact with the toddlers and their moms, and to put on a little puppet show about the 10 lepers. Before that day I wasn’t overly excited about the morning. Toddlers are high-energy, high-emotion, non-stop screaming machines with the endurance of a world-class marathon runner. Not exactly my cup of tea. I walked through the church doors Wednesday morning with a horrible perspective that was self-centered. I thought there was no way I was going to leave the church that day learning/seeing/experiencing anything that was going to be of personal significance.
I learned very quickly that God has a sense of humor. And that if we think we have ourselves figured out better than He does He’ll show us that we don’t. Within minutes of the outreach beginning, I met a 3-year old boy named Elijah. Something was special about this kid. I’m not sure why, in a gymnasium that was full to its limit with toddlers, I was drawn to this particular boy, but there is no doubt in my mind that I was. He beamed radiantly. We played with hot wheels and action figures that kicked up awesome memories (my guys, ha), but more importantly; I saw God’s character in this little boy in a way that I foolishly never thought I could. Joy, gentleness, peace, selflessness.
It didn’t take me long to realize that he had a speech deficiency. Also, the entire left side of his body was under-developed, and he had a constant stream of spit dribbling out the left corner of his mouth. His mother came over to where we were playing and explained to me that Elijah has cerebral palsy. For him, it means he can’t be a part of the games he sees his friends playing on the playground, he’ll never be able to play sports, and he will never speak correctly. And yet, his smiling never ceased and his laughter seemed to have no end. He was so happy, so content to have someone to play with and little action figures to smack each other with. I ended up spending the whole morning with him; playing silly games with him, laughing with him and showing God’s love to him as best as I could.
At the end of my time with him, I felt so heavy-hearted. So much of me wants to watch Elijah grow up, mature and become a man and be there for him to tell him how much God loves him. Its sad to think its more than likely I will never see him again, and yet God is faithful; because I have the opportunity for a life-long commitment to Elijah through prayer. Even though our paths may never again cross, I have the ability to encourage and support him all throughout his life.
Elijah and me.....
