There is so much to lament in our world today – a global pandemic, economic downturn, social/political/racial tensions. We face our own humanity and mortality on a daily basis. We know of people with serious health issues and we fear for them this deadly spreading virus. We know people who have lost jobs. We know those who suffer from isolation, anxiety, and depression.

We feel the malaise in our own souls as well. The unknown is becoming greater than the known. We cannot predict our schedules, our safety, our health. Trips have been cancelled indefinitely. Jobs are virtual and virtual feels distant. School for our children is not something we can count on. The experts disagree on so many things, and we don’t know what we don’t know.

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.
Matthew 10:42

Refreshing.

For a hike in the mountains, we always take water.  The Mad Creek Trail in Colorado is a lovely, well maintained trail, mostly level, and partly in shade.  There are no large loose rocks to turn your ankles, no rivers to cross.  Wildlife are rarely seen mid-day when most people make the hike, and we saw only healthy dogs of all shapes and breeds bounding along with their owners.  We walked a total of four and a half miles in almost three hours, exhausting our out-of-shape bodies.

God hears the cries of children.  When Jesus said, “Let the children come to me,” (Matthew 19:14) he was speaking for God, who desires all of us, no matter how small, to go to him when we are sinking, in trouble, in distress. 

In our world today, more than 151 million children ages 5 to 17 are subject to exploitation by adults who profit from their work, who cannot see a way out of the poverty trap.  Sadly, often it is parents who see no option but to offer up their children for a small amount of money.  The children have no choice in the matter.  They have nowhere to turn.