My friend

I have a friend...she knows who she is. She is what I would call a forever friend. The type that has seen me through the good years and the bad. She means a lot to me. However, this same friend spent the earliest years of her life in an orphanage much like the one I am currently serving in. This is a fact that I have been aware of since the beginning of our friendship but one that is easily forgotten as you get to know her and spend years being her friend. However, since arriving here we have talked about her stay and the type of place that she lived in. I have begun to wonder about the type of people that took care of her and how she was treated. Furthermore, since our talk I have begun to see each of my kids in a whole new light...they have each become that friend. Each of their little faces reflects the face of that very special friend. AND my way of treating them has changed. I have always loved them but now love them with a new kind of love. I not only want to love them but also to invest in them. I want them to grow up and have a life like that of my friend. Someone somewhere along the way helped my friend and I long to be that for these kids here. I am thankful for everyone that played a part in caring for her and bringing her into my life. I think that often times it is easy for people...even me..to view these kids as just another parent less child. However, they aren't just another parent less child they are our children. They will grow up to be someones mother, someones father, someones neighbor, and even someones friend. They will make a difference in the lives of others and touch the hearts of many. The ARE NOT just another parent less child...they are my friend and everything she is to me. No matter what earthly parent they have they all have the same Heavenly Father and that makes them special.