I CRY FOR YOU

I adored my little neighbors in Chicago. After I told them I was moving, I would randomly find 5 year old Ana weeping. She would look up at me with tears in her eyes and say, "I cry for you, April." Little Ana has a very sensitive heart- one that clearly breaks out of her love for other people. If only I could love half as well as my Ana...

Honestly, I didn't pray for a heart like Ana's. I should have. God's giving me an anthem- "I CRY FOR YOU." Let's start with the underprivileged of Grand Rapids. My heart is literally breaking after a coat/blanket drive where 400 families lined up at Burton Elementary. Huge turnouts mean running out of coats and blankets. I wept.

And then for the little girl I mentor. She told me she'd never built a snowman or played in snow. She's not from the south, she's just never had mittens. I was blessed to take her family on a Kohl's shopping spree to outfit them for winter. Of course, we ended a whole day of fun with a huge snowball fight. I've never seen such joy! And from an activity I always took for granted. Can you feel my heart breaking?

But, mostly, tonight, I cry for you, sweet baby Kaiya.

Heidi [Anderson] DeKorne is one of my best friends in the entire world. And her husband Mark is quickly becoming one, too! One of the great blessings of my move to Grand Rapids was to live near the DeKornes. This past Tuesday, we spent a glorious night being snowed in together. I held their sweet baby all night (I may or may not have actually picked sleeping Kaiya right out of her bed upon my arrival- I'm obsessed with her). Heidi, Mark and I ate 6 cookies each and watched Biggest Looser while the girls slept and the snow fell.

I was definitely thinking, life doesn't get much more dreamy than this.

And then it came crashing down. Today, Kaiya was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. All the visitors that saw me at the hospital tonight would have seen me holding it together pretty well. But in solitude, I can't stop weeping for my friends in pain and for precious little Kaiya. Please pray for the DeKornes- for the survival and healing of Baby Kaiya.

http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Kaiya

My eyes were foggy from tears and tiredness on my drive home from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit tonight. But, my God was very clear. He hears our cries. He knows our hearts.
He is mighty to save.

2 Samuel 22:7-
In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.

Psalm 61:1-3a
O, God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help, for my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to a towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge."

Posted in: Heart for Kids