It's all about the kids!!!
This is the phrase I hear almost daily, from worn out coworkers reminding each other that what we do is worth it and from smiling visitors who are in smitten with Mexican babies. Once in a while I even catch myself saying it. But I have a secret and for someone who works in an orphanage, it's a pretty dirty little secret. So here it is: I don't like kids all that much.
Don't get me wrong, I love kids that are mine (and by mine I mean nieces and nephews). I love soft cuddly babies that smile and fall asleep in your arms. I love toddlers that do and say hilarious things without even knowing it. I love watching children grow, seeing their personalities and gifts and character develop.
On the other hand, I don't like kids. I do not like dealing with kids who are screaming and are outright defiant. I do not like cleaning vomit off the floor and wiping diarrhea off their legs. I do not like spending a good portion of my day in the laundry room scrubbing soiled clothes. I do not like coming home every afternoon smelling of...well...crap...and bleach. I do not like seeing their selfishness and hearing their demands of "Me first!" (In other words, I don't like it when the remind me of me.) The truth is, I wouldn't do this for the kids.
And that's where God comes into the picture. It's not about the kids. It's about something so much bigger than the kids. It's about a God who loved us so much that He made a way for us to be with Him. He became one of us so that we could be one with Him. It's about the God of the universe. It's all about HIM!
That is why I do what I do. It's not because of the kids. It's because of what he did for me.
"Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
