The Raging of the Storm

Hello, everyone,
First of all I'd like to acknowledge the sources of this idea. Well, to start with, as with everything else, I should thank God, Who created everything and Who turned the stormy night into a lovely warm summmer morning.

Furthermore I want to acknowlege that I had just finished reading Susanna's awesome advocate post about the children of Pleven. If interested, the link is: http://theblessingofverity.blogspot.com

I was trying to get something done at the computer during night hours but a horrible storm was raging right out of our window. Thunder was roaring and lightning was flashing so near that I decided to play it safe, turn off, and unplug my computer. Getting a little something done did not justify risking to lose all the files stored in it. I prepared a coffee and had a night snack, which is almost a tradition for me. Looking out from the kitchen windows to the wooded ten-acre property that we rent we could imagine that to be the perfect spot for a re-making of Snow White's dreadful walk through the forest in the middle of the night until she found the cozzy cottage inhabited by the dwarves.

Without being able to use the computer, I was thinking about going back to sleep--but then in a matter of a few minutes, the storm seemed to stop, the skies cleared up with the morning light, carrying the promise of a beautiful summer day. The wind had stopped, and the birds were beginning to greet the morning with their song.

Before arriving to plug the computer back in, an idea came to my mind. "The calm after the storm" is a concept shared by people from all countries and all cultures all over the world. When something goes wrong, we try to find comfort in prayer, family support, the memories of much better times stored in our hearts, and the hope that things will get better soon. Yet, not everyone has those resources to hold on to--particularly not the children in an orphanage or in foster care, not the children without a family to give them something to look forward to, something to work for, something to hope for, something to make an effort to achieve.

For those kids there is no hope, no future, no goals, no life ahead. There is no "calm after the storm," no "rainbow after the rain," no safe haven, no open door. As in one of the well--known songs in the world-famous "Annie" movie, those kids know that nobody cares whether they "grow or shrink." And I don't think anyone of us can properly even imagine how very much that must hurt. We may try to understand it in order to justify some acting out--but we cannot fully arrive to grasp the idea of living with that knowedge during the first years of life. . . sometimes for quite too many years.

Adopting a child is saving a life. Can you do it? Or--can you do it one more time?