As I walked into my usual room at the hospital, I noticed a new face in the crib to my right. I greeted the nurse and asked who our new little friend was and she informed me of his name and one other piece of info - he wasn't sick. My heart sank. Sadly, this kid had just become another statistic in the abandonment epidemic. For reasons unknown to us, parents come insisting their child is ill, drop them off at the hospital, and leave with no guarantee of when they will return, if they return. Peeking from behind the bars of the crib were the big brown eyes and chubby legs of the newest addition and the sight of him jarred me back to reality. So many things had improved since last year that I was optimistic things were starting to change. Yet here sat a one year-old child abandoned for no reason. Its hard not to get angry when you see that the poor decisions of parents are borne solely by these babies who are not at fault.
I suppose there are many ways to look at this situation. Maybe its better for the babies to be in a safe environment rather than deal with the neglect they may receive at home. Maybe its good for them to be at the hospital and receive enough nourishment rather than go hungry at home. Yet all of these thoughts don't right the wrongs done to the children by those who should love them the most. I can only pray that God has mercy on these poor children and somehow gets a hold of the parents.
God's heart was broken long before mine was. His heart bleeds more for them than mine ever could. Yet now that mine is breaking as well, I think I'm understanding His a little better. Its hard to watch people hurt the innocent, especially when you're are powerless to stop it. What I can do, however, is be there to wrap up those discarded little ones, give them as much love and care as I can, and leave the rest up to God. He's pretty good as making beauty out of messes.
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