Another Piece of my Heart

Every morning she runs into my arms as I step through the gate of the preschool. This has become routine for us. My heart lights up to see her beautiful face and as she wraps her arms around my neck and tucks her tiny face close next to mine, nothing has ever felt more like home. She is small, but her smile could light up an entire room. She loves to knock her forehead right against mine and stare into my eyes, always knowing that it will fill me with laughter. Her sweet face masks a story that you would never know.

She comes from a home where sickness has won too often. Her father is passed and her mom HIV+. The kindness of a neighbor has allowed her to come to school. She wears old handed down uniforms and her chance of a continuing education is not promised beyond two years of free preschool. And still, she smiles and laughs and plays and loves like the world has dealt her a better hand. She is the definition of joy and even the sun seeks to light up her face.

 This week, my little Edith has been more of a teacher to me than I have been to her. She has taught me that a smile is not dependant on circumstances, but on faith. She sings of the Lord and how she will praise His name, and while I know that she might not grasp the entirety of what that means, she chooses to sing with a smile instead of to sit in sadness. Her face reminds me every morning of the promise of joy and love and peace that we can get only from God. Her smile is contagious to such an extreme degree and already she has captured my heart completely.

My heart has been broken this week as I’ve learned how many kids are like my Edith. How many come to this school until they are too old to stay, only to find that this is the only education they might ever get. So many little ones will leave this school at 7 or 8 and not sit for interviews to go to new schools because the fees are too high for their parents to afford. My heart breaks to know that these children will have only a preschool education to fall back on. As a teacher, my heart breaks to know that there are so many who never stand a chance at going to school because the cost is too high. As a believer in a Lord who loves and seeks every child, my heart breaks to know that there are so many who will fall away from faith as they fall away from school.

My heart is heavy and light at the same time, and it’s hard to find the balance. My prayer is for each of these whom I love to have a chance. My prayer is for parents who faithfully step out and take chances on these kids who are the future generations of this country. I will hug them until my arms turn blue and laugh with them until my voice is hoarse and love them with all the love that the Lord gives me, and I will never ever stop hoping for a better future for each of these who hold a piece of my heart.