You bring light to the darkness...

As I'm sitting here typing I am listening to this song by All Sons and Daughters.

"Great are You Lord."

You give life, You are love

You bring light to the darkness

You give hope, You restore

Every heart that is broken

Great are You, Lord

It's Your breath in our lungs

So we pour out our praise

We pour out our praise

It's Your breath in our lungs

So we pour out our praise to You only

You give life, You are love

You bring light to the darkness

You give hope, You restore

Every heart that is broken

Great are You, Lord

All the earth will shout Your praise

Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing

Great are You, Lord

I just had 2 weeks in the UK. It was hard. For the first time ever I could see myself moving back there and thriving! You know how the grass is always greener?! Yeah that was how I was feeling. The sacrifices that I make by being here in South Africa just didn't seem worth it. 

It was a battle to come back. And then after 24 hours of being here I am reminded of exactly why He has called me to be here.

I just had a call from the girls at the Shelter, and it was pretty desperate. 3 weeks ago one of my girls, Zinhle , gave birth to a beautiful little boy. He is amazing and perfect in every way... which is a miracle as his mother is a drug addict. 

Baby Lihle is a beautiful gift. He is God's pure love and grace in a tiny little perfect bundle. Sadly his mother doesn't see this, she looks at him and sees a mouth to feed, an inconvenience, a mistake. My heart breaks for them both. Today she called me desperate for me to take him for a day so that she can do laundry, go to work and get money and so that she can sleep. Lihle doesn't sleep or feed well due to the drugs that were in his system when he was born. Zinhle is tired and stressed and is on the verge of turning back to drugs in order to cope. 

When I look at my girls I see what God sees, beautiful broken, rejected, abused daughters of the King. I can feel His love for them. I can feel His pain. I look at Zinhle and I don't see a drug addicted prostitute, I see a broken child who has NEVER been loved or cherished. How can this young woman possibly know how to love her son when she herself has never felt true unconditional love? 

It breaks me that this baby has come into this situation in the way that he has, my prayer for Zinhle is that she falls in love with her son in the way that Father God loves her. 

I have been asking God what my part in all of this is. He told me clearly. LOVE HER. Do not judge her. Love her as I love her. Do what it takes to prove that I believe in her. Hold her when she needs to be held, give her a break when she needs a break, listen to her when no one else listens. Calm her fears with My Word and your prayers. 

So that is what I'm going to do, and I'm going to start by caring for Lihle for a night. DEEP BREATH HERE......

I know that with obedience to His calling comes provision and strength, I'm trusting Him 100% in this. I know its only for a night but its still a big deal for me. Please pray. Pray that during that 24 hours Zinhle is touched by God's love for her, that she rests and finds that she is missing her baby. Pray that she learns to trust me and my intentions towards her. Pray that God provides for petrol money and nappies and formula. Pray for Lihle that he manages to also rest and that God calms and heals this beautiful baby's heart and body.

 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb.Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!

How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!