You Make Me Feel Like a Woman, Great Balls of Fire and Tutti Frutti are just some of the songs I listened to on my bus ride home. More than 5 decades ago these songs were hits in America and now they are being played across the ocean on the local radio station. I laugh to myself at the irony. I wonder if the artist ever dreamed their music would still be playing 50 years later all the way in Romania? It is possible that 4 generations could be listening to their tunes at any given moment, any where in the world.
If one song can have millions, maybe even billions of listeners, it is possible that one act of kindness, meeting one need, helping one family, loving one baby and feeding one child can have the same generational impact!?
A few weeks ago, Ana at the Center where I work with the kids, invited the mother's and grandmothers for a luncheon. It was a time of fellowship and prayer. We asked them, "What is the hope for their children?" A question that was difficult for them to answer, as they really did not know. "Get married and have children, be healthy, go to school." A generation full of hope and promise and the expectations limited to just a few things. After all, this is all that was expected of them, how can they expect anything more from their children. When the only hope for most of them is just to make it through today, "survival mode" how can they think beyond that?
Few bring the little hope they have left to the pre kindergarten in the mornings. The scars of their survival from the night before is revealed in black eyes and worn faces. A 4 year old in hand and a baby in her arms. Others brought by older sisters who's mother left her 7 children in the night so she can escape the abuse. The mother's hope tells stories of the where abouts of the children who did not come, the stories of the mom's who went away with their kids to the forest to find refuge.
In a small village another mother speaks of her hope after receiving funds to help purchase hearing devices for her 13 year old daughter who could not hear. “I can send Ana to school without fear of her being hit by a car. It is a miracle from God we hoped and prayed for but never expected that it would happen so fast! We asked for help, three weeks later God helped us! Even the Doctors were amazed we had the funds to pay for the devices. They told us we would never be able to pay! God bless you for helping our family and answering our prayers!” Ana is shy and smiles as she looks down and says, “I am happy I can learn again and hear the teacher when she talks.”
A hearing aid for two ears, one luncheon, one day at school, one hug, one kiss, one bag of diapers, one tank of butane gas, food for a family, one month of vitamins, washing powder and a loaf of bread given in love has the hope to impact future generations!
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of [buildings that have laid waste for] many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
Isaiah 58:12 (Amplified)
