Choked Up

Today I was beyond blessed to witness the handover of one of our Beautiful Gate children to her new mother. I have seen many handovers since coming here, but today's was so special and it got me choked up. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about the new mother's reaction to seeing her daughter. When the house mother brought the baby into the room, the mother quickly got out of her chair and walked to the house mother and just started sobbing. She held her new little girl close to her cheek and hugged her and then hugged the house mother and just kept wiping the tears from her face as she cried. She whispered to her little baby and showed her to her parents and they began to tear up. Her father walked over to us and just started shaking our hands and thanking us over and over again for what we do here. All 3 of them were so overcome with emotion that they could hardly speak. They thanked us profusely and wiped tears and handed their little daughter/granddaughter back and forth to each other. They thanked God and let us pray over them before they left with their new little girl and were full of joy and great rejoicing.

This child who left today was the one I named back in January. The only child I have had the privilege of naming which was very special to me. I have watched her grow and have made a special bond with her, and I know that God has picked out the perfect mother for my little girl. Such love and joy and peace she will know with her new mother. A mother who visited her often because she is a local Basotho mother, but who could not wait to take her home. She will have a great life and only God knows the impact she could have in Lesotho one day when she grows up!

If God loves us even more than this mother who showed such love today, it is no wonder that He was compared to the father who waited for his prodigal son to return and when he saw him in the distance he ran to him and threw his arms around him. I felt like I caught a glimpse of that kind of love today through a mother who was waiting for a long time for her daughter.