I remember when I found Reece's Rainbow when Kamdyn was a baby. I remember how I scrolled down the pages and pages of children waiting for families. They called to me then, and they call now.
I scroll down and tears flow. I scroll, and I think............
He could be mine.
She could be mine.
Because they have Down syndrome, no different than my Kamdyn.
And if you scroll through the pages of Reece's Rainbow, you will see children who are in an orphanage at this very moment for the sole reason that they have one extra chromosome, Down syndrome. And when they are 5, they will be sent to a mental institution, where they will go to bed at night without the sounds of lullabies, but rather the moans and screams of people.
Some days, I'll watch Kamdyn crawling after her brother and sister, laughing and playing, and I think of one of these children, who is tied to a crib, unable to move, and I wonder what it would be like for Kamdyn if that was her. While Kamdyn is being doted on and hugged, I wondered how these children can survive with no love and only the bare minimun of human touch and contact, and then I remember that some don't survive. I look at Kamdyn's full belly after a meal, and I wonder why there are children who lay starving in a crib at this very moment, being denied food, simply because they have Down syndrome.
What about Nash?
Do you think he had enough to eat today?
What about Lily?
Do you think anyone hugged her today?
God allowed Kamdyn to be born into our family, but a child does not have to come into the world that way to be some one's child. Sometimes your child is an ocean away, and you must go get him. You must get to her. He is yours. She is yours.
Would you cross the ocean to rescue your child?
Would you raise money, cut costs, ask for help to reach your child who was a world away living in despair?
I think you would.
And while my heart will forever be knit with children who have Down syndrome, others may have a different burden. This is my friend, Rebekah. She just embarked on the journey of a lifetime by following God's leading to adopt a child from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I've already told her I can't wait to see what God is going to do, because I know it's going to be great.
Another friend, Amy, is well on the way in the process of adopting their little girl, who has Down syndrome.
I know that the things I referenced above are not pleasant to think about, but they are reality for these children. You don't have to be a perfect mother to raise a child with Down syndrome. I can tell you that first hand, because I am certainly not a perfect mother. You don't have to be a saint to adopt a child. You just have to open your heart. And maybe, one of those waiting children is your child, waiting for you.
If only Jim knew how much money I donated to Reece's Rainbow last year:) I just can't resist helping these sweet children!
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