Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Present


"People think kids are the future, but really they are the present."--Mayerly Sanchez.

2005 trip to Athi River, Kenya

I'm often reminded daily of my experiences around the world working with children.  Whether it be little baby Susu I carried for hours because she didn't want to be let down in Santa Cruz, Jamaica or the three Kenyans I onced walked an hour home with  after preschool, there are so many memories of little ones I've encountered so far in my lifetime.

For me children are everything.  They are the essence of joy but yet can be the root of fear (as you realize your child is not anywhere where he is supposed to be and the very core of you begins to panic).  Their laughter can melt some of the toughtest of hearts and their tears can break some of the hardest.  Their innoncence is everything we aspire to be, yet it is the very vulnerability of a child that is being broken and shattered.

We say over and over again that the children are our future... so we continue on with our self gratifying lives ignoring the reality that is around us:  a world slowly melting away, wars ontop of wars, Nations deteriorating because of HIV/AIDS, famines, and injustice.  Children aren't the future, they are NOW!  They are voices to be heard.  They are suffering the result of our actions!

We can change the course of our future, by changing our course in children NOW.

In a time when I'm figuring out the how and when, I see a little child before me.  My child.

I see her tantrums, her laughter, her fits, and her cuddles.  I see her ability to embrace a stranger as well as the fear of being abandoned by mom and dad.  



And what I see in her is the same that resonates in the hearts of so many!

I may not have always been the rescuer, and I've had my fair share of mistakes when it comes to children, and I may not be a great on in the history of World Changers...

     "Few will have the greatness to bend history: but each of us can work to  change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation...It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped.  Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."   -- Robert Kennedy, University of Cape Town, South Africa, 1966


Yet in my experiences, children hearts are so easily molded and shaped and the most sincerest act of love toward a child can make all the difference!  So as parents we invest in the lives of our children now .  And as hearts who desire to see a different world, we listen to the voices of children now.  





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15 comments:

  1. aw! those pictures are precious!!
    i just love your blog! :) your posts always make me smile!

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  2. your daughter is BEAUTIFUL!! I love this post it is so true. Children are being affected by US as parents, sisters, brothers...etc RIGHT NOW! I see it especially from the psychological view. A mother yelling at her child for every single thing, a child already thinking they are UGLY before school even begins... This is not the fruit of the spirit being produced in today's youth it is the work of evil and we have to break the cycle and raise up strong, independent men and women of GOD whose identities rest solely upon the view that GOD has of them. I love your blog lady!!

    ♥cheche

    http://www.savedthrulove.blogspot.com

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  3. I love this post and photos. Gorgeous!

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  4. Josslyn is so.incredibly.beautiful. What a great post:)

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  5. This is so beautiful Jhen. They are here and now! What a great challenge. I know that it must be such a huge test and reward to raise a child!

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  6. Beautiful words and breath taking pictures. Your little Joss is SO adorable. Love the pic of her kissing daddy;0. Can't get enough of Daddy daughter pictures! I used that verse not long ago too for a picture and I especially love the picture you paired it with! perfect!

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  7. love this, so beautiful. and your little one is just the cutest ever.

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  8. I just love your view of the world Jhen - you are such an inspiration!

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  9. so beautiful, jhen....
    you have a beautiful way of writings words &
    capturing photos to bring other closer to the heart of Jesus.

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  10. Always a great inspiration. Thanks for that

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  11. Beautiful. You are an inspiration!

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  12. what a cute lil family! She's a doll! Love that verse too :)
    xoxo

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  13. I adore the last one! Looks like a piece of artwork! Gorgeous!

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