This past week a horrible incident occurred in a Cincinnati
zoo. A young child wanted to get into an
exhibit and was able to do so, seemingly with little struggle. He fell a distance into a moat, where a
400-pound gorilla greeted him.
This is the stuff of nightmares. Not only are little kids fast, I am convinced
most have a death wish. Our sole job as
parents is to try to keep them alive to their 10th birthday. Now, instead of your child running out of
your sight at the park or getting too close to the lit stove, he is trapped…in
an exhibit…with a super terrifying animal that could easily crush his skull
with one blow.
As probably all of you are aware, the zookeepers had to make
what must have been a heartbreaking decision and kill this rare, beautiful
animal. Zoology experts like Jack
Hanna agreed that this was the right decision as this animal was showing
signs of aggression. He was most likely not
going to stop without seriously, and potentially fatally injuring the
child. Tragedy all around.
This horrific event reminded me of something so incredibly
prevalent in our culture. People were blasting
all over social
media about how terribly neglectful these parents were, and that CPS should
be investigating them.
Ahh…the trump card…call CPS.
So many people felt that this family should have their children taken
away from them for neglect. While I
don’t think this freak accident should warrant that, I think it shows something
important lacking in our hearts. We are
quick to point blame and stand in accusation, but when a child ends up in need
of a loving home, where are the same outspoken vigilantes of justice? All too often, the most opinionated are
nowhere to be found.
Abortion is another area where you see a lot of talk, and
very little action. Let me explain: While I think EVERY life has value and is
significant to our Heavenly Father…I feel for the women that have to make this
tough decision. They hear people
shouting, “DON’T HAVE AN ABORTION! People would LOVE to adopt your baby!” And then when it comes down to it, many are
unwilling to actually foster or adopt.
(There are of course awesome
exceptions to this, but sadly they are rare.)
My heart breaks when I see kids in need of loving homes. When I look at our kids that we adopted two
years ago, I am overwhelmed with so many emotions. We are blessed to be able to raise them. They are precious, hilarious, and although
not biologically related to us, they are remarkably similar to our family. We can’t imagine life without those two.
So, to sum up this meandering blog…I implore you please put
action and compassion to your thoughts and quit playing the blame game. Life is tough enough without the whole world
picking apart your every decision. When
you see someone doing something that offends/upsets/frustrates you, ask
yourself, “What can I do about this to help bring glory to Jesus?”
Earnestly ask God for insight, and then obey. Maybe God will call you to adopt. Maybe He will call you to foster. Maybe He will call you to volunteer. But, I guarantee you that whatever He calls
you to will be challenging and rewarding in a way that you can’t even imagine
right now.
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