JUST ONE TOUCH

As we walked to the Allamano school today, we had an addition to our team.  His name is Jim and he’s 4 years old. We met Jim a few nights ago when he came to our porch.  If there are people at the guesthouse, the children who live in the Nazareth compound come to the porch of the guesthouse to color, do puzzles, and play games. Jim comes as soon as he’s able and stays until it’s almost dark. A rule we operate by is all are home before dark, even the adults.  We said good night to Jim a couple of nights only to discover he was still on the porch without much light left.  So Nicole escorted him to the end of the road and pointed Jim toward home with another goodbye.

So as we left for a fun-filled afternoon with the kids at Allamano, it was no surprise to find him on the porch. He grabbed Yvette’s hand and off we went. I was talking and walking alongside Jim when he grabbed my hand.  Just one touch, Jim’s touch, but also God’s touch.  God used Jim’s touch to lift my spirits and mine to lift his.  This touch was special because I’ve been operating with compassion fatigue, something I wasn’t cognizant of, for a while.  In his book, “A Mile in My Shoes,” author Trevor Hudson says compassion fatigue can arise when we “care overmuch”, neglect self care because it appears selfish, and focus too much on pleasing others.  Through Jim’s grabbing of my hand, God renewed my heart and allowed me to be available to others again in a caring way.

I’ve discovered by God’s grace that while I want to be a blessing to others while here in Kenya, God is also using his children in Kenya to bless me. 

Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. – Luke 18:16