Will You Stand?

Standing.  Those of us who are able do it hundreds of times a day.  When we were infants, it was new and exciting.  We would practice again and again.  Now it’s become a habit.  We sit and we stand without thinking - it’s no big deal.  For a while, it’s exciting again as we watch with bated breath our children and grandchildren explore with wonder what their bodies are able to do as they learn how to sit, stand, and walk.

There are children, however, who do not have parents to partake in the joy of learning these things with them.  There are children who grow up without any encouragement to explore the world around them, no congratulations when they learn something new, and who are viewed as more of a hassle than a gift.  When we encounter these children, once again we need to learn how to stand.

God stands on behalf of children who have been wronged by people who are supposed to love them no matter what.  We at Impact are thankful that one of the ways he does so is by allowing us to cross their paths.  The story of four brothers who showed up at Impact this last June are a perfect example.

With their father in jail, these four boys (ages 5-9) were already missing out on an important person in their life.  In the beginning of June, their mother brought them to Houston, dropped them off at grandma’s, and left without a word of when she would return for them.  The boys found themselves in a new city, with people they didn’t know, and not knowing whether they would ever see their mother again.

Their grandmother, an Impact member, signed them up for VBS.  They came to Impact scared of the unknown, rejected by their mother, but embraced by family desperate to show them love.  Over the next six weeks of VBS, they were smiled at, laughed with, hugged on, and loved more than they ever had been in their short lives.  They began the summer lonely, with big behavior problems, big eyes, and blank stares.  They ended the summer earning awards for exceptional behavior and service, with huge smiles, lots of giggles, and more friends than they’d ever had.  Above all, they learned through all those people that there is a God who will never leave them, never forsake them, who loves them so much that he gave up his only son so they could be with him, and will always stand on their behalf.  He will be there to rejoice with them when they learn something new, to cry with them when the world is unkind, and to encourage them towards a great and amazing life lived for him.

The mother of these four sweet boys has not returned.  No one knows where she is or if they will ever see her again.  The boys have found a new home, with people who love them and who are joyfully learning how to stand on their behalf.  Thank you for allowing God to use you to enable Impact to stand in the gap for those who are unable to stand alone!       

       -Dennis Jaeger