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Scared – A Novel on the Edge of the World from Children’s HopeChest on Vimeo.
I just finished this book and thought it was amazing! While this book is fiction, everything about it is reality for millions on a daily basis. So many events in this book have been described to me in stories from Zoe. Since she was 8 when we adopted her she had experienced many of these events first hand. While it’s hard to imagine the flood coming that quickly, she tells of a woman washing clothes in the river while her children played beside her and the rain and huge wave came quickly and washed her away and she drowned. She also tells of a time where someone lodged a big stick in the door of one family’s hut and set it on fire and they burned up in it. It’s hard ti imagine all she has seen and experienced at such a young age. Not long after we arrived home Zoe became sick. One night I could tell she was really worried and I talked to her and she was afraid she was going to die. Death was a daily reality for her and it broke my heart to see her so afraid that this common cold was going to kill her. Zoe was orphaned by both parents and was fortunate enough to be taken in by a village family with 9 children of their own and she was basically their domestic help. Fortunately for her, this provided some protection for her, but there are millions of other vulnerable young girls who are left to fend for themselves. It’s hard for us to imagine as we read that this could actually happen, but don’t let the “fiction” fool you! It’s REAL! It’s NOT a feel good book, but it’s one that we MUST read and we must ACT! As it mentions in the book, you have to look at the small scale and the larger scale. I feel like we have made a difference on the small scale through adoption, but I’m trying to figure out how to make a difference on the larger scale! What does it look like in my life, the life of our family? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book and ways the Lord has revealed to you to get involved. We often find ourselves asking “Why would a loving God allow this? ” Only God knows that, but I trust in His perfect plan and I’m confident that he doesn’t want us to sit idly by. He wants us be a part of the solution, and by being involved, we will be blessed beyond anything we could imagine.
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Matthew 25:40
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Psalm 82:3