Blessings

My favorite part about a church service is the blessing. We go to a fairly large church and I always notice a few parents sneak out to be first in line at the nursery. Or a few elderly people leave during that last song to avoid the chaos of weaving through a crowded narthex. But I need to hear that blessing. I love to see the minister stand up, with his arms raised and palms pointing out, over me and say this:

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Numbers 6, 24-26

These words give me that extra bit of strength I might need during the week. They fill me with a little more hope than I came with. But most of all they give me comfort. They remind me of the presence of God in my life. Day to day, hour to hour, minute by minute.

When I headed to China this blessing stayed with me, but selfishly. I thought about God keeping the plane safe and calming my flying anxieties. I thought about God blessing my work and what I can do.

That all changed when I came face to face with 27 amazing children of God. Each child knowing they were meeting me and that my job is to find them a family. As I met these children I found myself laying my hand on each one. Saying in my mind this blessing: “May the Lord Bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn His face to shine upon you and give you peace”. Later in the week we met more children. I continued my blessings. Each little 3 year old boy, each 7 year old girl, each child of God, deserved to feel a warm hand on their cheek, to play “who’s got your nose,” try on sunglasses to look silly and be blessed.

God blesses us every day. God gives us more than we deserve. God expects us to share this. To use this and to give back what Hhe has given. How can we bless these children? How can we lay our hands on them and give them peace? How can we be God’s face shining upon them?

I beg you all to consider how you can be a blessing to these Children of God. I met 27 children in Beijing Orphanage #1. I met 10 children in Shenyang Orphange. I am haunted by the full beds of the Tulchyn orphanage in Ukraine and the children in Haiti being buried in unmarked graves at the bottom of a hill. Children who have died in the arms of caregivers whose job it was to love them and provide for them. Children in Africa who care every day for their siblings since their parents have died of AIDS. These are God’s children and God’s children are OUR children.

You are reading this as social workers, as prospective adoptive families, as administrators, as Churches, as parents, as Children of God. I am not a preacher, I am not ordained, but I promised these children so I am giving this blessing to all of you as you think about what you can do:

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Numbers 6, 24-26

*This was an article that was published in LifeLines (the publication put out by Bethany Christian Services in the Spring 2009 edition)