Pools of Sadness to Lakes of Joy

POOLS OF SADNESS TO LAKES OF JOY
by Crystal J. Ortmann


A prayer request was given in Sunday school for all mothers to come and pray for an infant. She was a tiny, black child with curly hair.
The baby lay quietly in her foster mother’s arms. As I looked down at her, I looked into the deepest pools of sadness I had ever seen. She couldn’t have been more than a month or two old. I reached out and gently stroked her soft, baby hair. Over and over, I caressed her, willing some trust and love into this tiny being. She had broken ribs and had other internal injuries from physical abuse. It broke my heart. How could anyone do something like that to such an innocent and helpless baby? My soul cried out to God on her behalf.
The prayer seemed to last a long time, and during those moments, I kept my hand on her head. When the prayer was finished, I opened my eyes and looked at her. She was asleep in the loving arms of her foster mother. It seemed a sign of trust.
It’s hard for me to reconcile this sort of thing with God’s care, but we Christians and other innocent people can be hurt by the sins of others. All I know is that I pray for God’s complete healing for her life and for her to be a strong woman of God.
Although it was hard to look at that sweet little face and those sad brown eyes, I counted it a privilege to be able to pray for this child. I believe God will take this horrendous situation and bring great joy out of it. I pray also for those children of whom I’m not aware. I pray God will touch their little lives. I want Him to take those terrifying and hideous sins against these little ones and make something beautiful out of them and turn those pools of sadness into lakes of joy.