A Mother's Love

Today I was reminded that I am in Lesotho, a 3rd world country where poverty destroys families. There is a little girl here whom I have loved on and worked hard to help her learn to walk. Over a month ago, she was reunited with her mother who had abandoned her when she was a baby. Today, her mother brought her back. She just couldn't afford to feed her and keep her warm. Seeing them together and the mother's anguish that she could not care for her child was heartbreaking. The mother wrote her daughter the most beautiful letter I have ever read and told her how much she loves her (I was tempted to post it but thought I should respect the mother who wrote it and the future family who will adopt this beautiful girl). She is not giving her up out of hatred or lack of love, she is giving her up so she can have enough to eat and a family who can provide for her. The letter is so heartfelt and the most wonderful gift she could give her daughter so she will always know that her mother cared so much that she gave her up.
Beautiful, heartbreaking Lesotho.
There have been times where I have wanted to hate these mothers who just abandon their children and leave them out in the cold where they can die or be hurt by wild animals, or leave them in trash bags or in a pit toilet. I want to yell at them about the way they are neglecting and abusing their precious gifts from God, and yet I feel the Holy Spirit pricking my heart to love them and to pray for them. I have tried to do that even before we came here to live. To try to put myself in their shoes knowing that the mother could be dying of AIDS, or she may have run out of food and can't bear to watch her child die of starvation. Today, God showed me one of those mothers whose love is pure and true. She may have done it wrong the first time when she abandoned her daughter, but this time she knew Beautiful Gate was here and she brought her to us and did the last loving thing she could do, give her to a family who can take care of her basic needs and so much more because she knew she could not and had to walk away in tears. This is a kind of love I cannot even begin to explain or feel because loving your child so much that you have to let go is unimaginable to me and I respect her and I love her and will pray God's peace for her.