Loved

Poor baby.

Our courageous little bird is struggling to acclimate to life in a hospital ward. After months of having the run of the village with little or no supervision or discipline, being corralled in a hospital unit day after day is excruciating. In his new and strange environment, surrounded by new people, a new language and patients with frightening facial disfigurements, her wings are clipped and she is having a hard time.

When I visit her, she insists on leaving with me. She waits by the door and would follow me down the hallway if someone didn’t stop her. This is when she cries and wails and my heart feels as if it’s being ripped out.

Does she feel abandoned once again? Does she feel I don’t love her? Is what I am doing hurting her? Will she grow up to think she is unworthy of love because all of the many times she has been left behind? I pray not.

This past Sunday I was able to participate in church on the ward. The double doors to the unit were swung wide open and chairs lined the hallway. The drums were placed front and center, and patients and caretakers sat on beds and stools as the worship began. The music was loud, rhythmic and contagious as we praised the God who loves us.

Next came the message. It could not have been more perfect. The scripture came from Isaiah 49:14-15 “But Zion said, ‘ The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”

Abandoned by her father as a baby, left by her mama at the tender age of four, neglected, abused, malnourished, the flame of her life nearly extinguished, Aissa was never forgotten by God. That is a tie too intimate to ever be broken. She is safe in his arms.

At the end of the service Aissa held up her arms, meaning she wanted to ride on my back. She wanted to be carried as her mama had carried her. I obliged and we swayed together as we praised her Father.

The One who will never forget her.