Do we care enough to act?

For those who don’t know, I began having “heart attacks” on Monday morning. These attacks began around 8:30 a.m. with severe chest pains to the left of the center of my chest, and by 2:30 p.m. I was experiencing full-blown severe chest pains that radiated to my back, neck, and left arm—which left the arm tingling and feeling like lead. The pain was immense! It took my breath away.

At the ER, I continued having “heart attacks”—which the EKG machine, that was attached to me, was confirming. The strange thing was, I wasn’t going unconscious. Thus, I was admitted to the hospital in order to have my heart checked. The enzyme check and the nuclear stress test showed there was no damage to my heart. Therefore, the doctors concluded that I did not have a heart attack. So, Tuesday evening I was released from the hospital with the cause of the attacks being “undetermined”.

The chest, back, neck, and arm pains have come and gone in the last few days, but today I think I’ve solved the mystery of their appearance.

When Andrew woke up this morning, he got out of bed and ran as fast as he could to me. We snuggled and spent over thirty minutes just hugging, kissing, and talking. At one point, Andrew snuggled up to my face and with his hand, he began to caress the side of my face. The chills ran through my body. I was so taken by his expression of love. I was awed that he cared so much.

He continued. Face to face. Caressing my face.

Hours later I was still thinking about how special our time together was. Andrew was loving me and showing it. His expression of love filled my heart to overflowing. Then I began to think about how this once-orphan had become a son and acts like a son.

These thoughts led to thinking about Rus*ia and the thousands of orphans who now have no hope of ever becoming a son or a daughter. I thought of the families who had already been matched with a child and were so in love with “their” little boy or girl.

The pain in my chest began again. It hit me. On Monday morning when my chest pains began, I was listening to a radio summary of the events that had been finalized in Rus*ia, and about the number of families who were being tormented with the loss of “their” child. I was overcome with grief for those families. For those children. For the children who were now left without hope.

(If you are unfamiliar with the trauma faced by Rus*ian orphans who have special needs, you can read one family’s story HERE. But, there are many more similar stories….)

Can any of us possibly know what living without hope is like?
I doubt it.

To have:
No hope.
No help.
No future.

It’s uncomprehendable.
It’s terrifying!
It’s horrifying!
It’s heart-stopping.

What can we do? We can fast and pray.

Pray for the orphans in Rus*ia. Pray that their daily needs would be met. Pray that their government would begin to value the life of children with special needs. Pray that the Rus*ian people would begin to adopt the orphans living in their country.


What if you were without daily food?
       Not due to dieting or fasting, but...
       NO food for an undetermined amount of time.
       No calories to help your body stay warm.
       No calories to help your brain want to engage.
       No calories to give you a desire to interact with others.
       NO food.
What it you were without daily water?
Without necessary medication?
Without a touch?
Without hope?

Without a voice?


That's what I've personally been thinking about.
You and I would want the heavens moved!