Hungry for love

It was cluttered with boots and coats in the tiny entrance as we entered the apartment and were welcomed up stairs to the kitchen table. We sat on two of the three chairs to discuss with the 9 year old boy about the struggles he was having at camp obeying the rules. Asking him if he knew about the 5 rules at camp he confidently began listing them, “respect god, respect leaders, respect property, respect yourself” and then he stopped trying to jog his memory for the last one. The one they all struggle with, respecting others.

As we spoke with him talking through things that could help him, how we could work with him in controlling his anger on the other side of the kitchen was a man carefully preparing pancakes for dinner. Every few minutes a little girl would enter the room and he would apologize over and over as he quickly told her to leave because we were talking.

As our discussion with this young boy came to an end I slipped away from the table leaving my coworker asking him questions about school. I walked into the next room where three little girls sat on the floor. I asked them their ages and names, seven, five and four they said. They were each eager for attention and I sat down on the gritty floor and joined them in a game of Janga, the only toy in the room. They instantly became upset with each other as each of them wanted my full attention. I asked a lot of questions going from one to the next to the next doing my best to help them all feel engaged and valuable.  It was far too soon when I gently told them that it was time for me to go, the youngest quickly moved in for a hug as if we had known each other forever, so hungry for love.

This family has been on my heart for a while now. They have no mother in their lives and the man who cares for them as a father is actually only a biological father to one of them. I have only begun to learn of their story but it is one that has left these kids very hungry for affection and any form of attention which sadly leads them to a lot of misbehavior in pursuit of gaining attention because bad attention is sometimes better than no attention. 

Please pray for this family and pray for doors and opportunities to continue to know them and walk alongside them and that as we do that doors would be open to share the love of Christ which knows no end.