I have been thinking a lot lately about orphans.  It’s not something new for me but it has been fresh on my mind.  My husband and I, as well as some of my children, have been working with orphans in Honduras since 2002 as participants of short-term mission trips.  Now, the boys and girls that we started working with are all young adults on their own and there is a totally new batch of beautiful children.  We try to make it down every year and we remain in touch mostly through Facebook with those active young adults.  They have become our extended family.

The Lord placed the plight of orphans heavy on my heart.

I was reading through Isaiah, chapter 1 when verses 16 and 17 really jumped out at me and I found myself stuck there for the remainder of the evening.

 

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.

 

I don’t think you can read this passage without a million thoughts rolling through your mind.  Questions like what does this look like in today’s culture?  What is justice?  How do I make this command come about in my life?  How do you correct oppression? What are my personal responsibilities before the Lord?

 

Honduras

 

Millions of thoughts ran through my mind that evening.  Like the importance of actively participating in foster care and adoption here in the United States.  The importance of spending time with children whose parents are working and are left unattended at home in your very neighborhood.  How important it is to participate in child sponsorship programs and the profound effect of time spent in prayer for orphans.  How about going into the full-time gospel work of serving in an orphanage?  Short-term mission work overseas?

The truth is we are all required to tend to the needs of orphans as believers in Jesus Christ.  It is a fact…really, no one can argue it away and who would want to anyway?

Scripture is filled with God’s Commands about orphans.

 

James 1:27

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

 

Big words but how does one go about it?  For me on New Year’s Eve that was the question. You see I have been sick and I found myself wondering how in the world I was supposed to fulfill this command of God when some days I barely have the energy to get out of bed?

 

My thoughts kept going to my friend Isaias.  I met him when he was 5 years old when he was living in the orphanage Oasis DeAmor.  He has the stigma of being an orphan and being an orphan with some physical limitations. We sponsored him for many years and went on short-term mission trips to see him. It has been a real privilege to see Isaias grow up and make his way in the world.  We consider him a family.  That face of his just kept popping up in my head and it was almost as if he was there in the room with me.  I thought about his plight as an orphan and as a 19-year-old man his plight continues, it is hard to make decisions about life without the constant guidance of parents.  He has had it better than most as he grew up in a wonderful orphanage run by the most amazing Pastor and his wife, Boris, and Nena.   He is a wonderfully sensitive man and works hard when he can find work and oh, he can charm anyone with that smile of his! Isaias is the face that was in my mind as I contemplated what I could do for the orphans of the world while I was battling my own illness?

 

As the evening went on and I was in prayer for what my role might look like at this stage of my life, things began to become clear.  I realized that I can make a difference in the lives of orphans no matter what situation in life I am in! Let me share with you the 3 ways God has shown me how I can make a difference in the world for orphans while I am trying to get healthy.

Orphans What's A Person To Do?

3 Ways To Support Orphans The Biblical Way

 

Prayer

I can change the world while lying in bed, there is nothing more powerful than prayer!

 

Blog

I am a blogger and can write meaningful posts about orphans that may inspire others in the world to take action on behalf of orphans.

 

Sponsorship

We no longer sponsor Isaias through Great Commission Latin America but we do help out from time to time with things like rent and food when he is unemployed.

 

I know now why Isaias was on my heart that night, you see, he has never let the fact that he only has partly formed hands and feet get in the way of doing what he needs to do.  He works with the best of them and NEVER uses his physical disability as an excuse not to do anything.  He inspired me not to let my illness get in the way of doing what God commands in his word.

 

Thanks, Isaias!

 

YOUR TURN…
In what way is God calling you to participate in the plight of orphans?

 

Blessings,
Signature

Janelle Esker

Janelle Esker is the grateful wife of Michael and homeschooling mother of six amazing children. She lives with her family, 4 cats, 1 dog, 3 ducks and 12 chickens in scenic Ohio. Janelle received her B.A. in Education from Ohio Northern University. She is the author of CHOSEN: One Family's Journey with Autism.

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6 Comments

  1. Janelle you are right. Blogging is a powerful thing you can do. I’ve had similar prayerful thoughts lately and you are the first person that I’ve been able to discuss them with…besides my husband. I don’t have answers yet, but I know that praying is where I need to start.

    1. Thanks Christina…it sounds like God is on the move! I am excited to see where it all leads and I know it will be good!

    1. Thank you for your kind words Brittany! I really appreciate your support and encouragement!

  2. Thank you for this wonderfully inspiring post!

    1. You are so very welcome, Francina!

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