The past few days I was at a conference full of strangers. When lunch time would roll around I would find a stranger to sit next to and start a conversation.
Seated all alone at a table not so far from me I see a small and stern-looking woman with round glasses. I pray silently and sit down next to her. We talk about our cities, passions, and she tells me all about her publishing company. Then we start to talk family, I tell her all about my niece and nephew that recently came home from Eastern Europe. I show her pictures and the minute she sees Sam, she points to my phone's screen and tears fill her eyes.
The she tells me about her sister, Kelly. Kelly had multiple special needs and was taken care of primarily by family until she passed away in her early twenties. She told me that Kelly was her family's greatest treasure, she was almost always smiling. She later told me how her mom fought so that her sister had the best education and doctors. How their lives were so much better with Kelly in them, how it's been over twenty years but her heart still aches for her sister. One thing that my new friend said more than once was how grateful she was that her mother insisted that her and her sister had the same experiences. Sunshine, sledding, trips to the big city. Kelly lived! These precious ones below deserve the same. . . they wait to be chosen and loved. They desperately need families.
Thank you so much for including Kanani!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome. :)
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