We don’t have all the answers.
When you’re working with children at risk, in a community known for underage prostitution and human trafficking, the problems are big and overwhelming.
There are so many children and so many needs.
You can start drowning if you think too much about it.
So what do you do?
Just keep going.
Today I felt so overwhelmed, I thought for a moment, I’m just going to cancel the club today. I can’t do this.
And then that familiar surge came over me and I packed my stuff up and got in the car.
And look what I would have missed out on? Just look at the smiles, joy and laughter that these children need so badly.
They look at me desperately when I drop them off – when can we do it again? They need this. They need this time to just be kids, to experience love, joy and laughter. To create, explore, learn and enjoy.
So, no, I don’t know the solution to half of the problems going on around me, but that won’t stop me.
I can’t fix everything, but I can bring joy today. Today I can help a child smile. I can give him an opportunity he wouldn’t have otherwise. And sometimes, though it doesn’t feel like it, that has to be enough.
For now, for this moment, I’ll just keep going.
You can read this post and others like it at RefugioJaco.com
I used to be a social worker. I remember people telling me, “that must be a rewarding job.” I never had the guts to tell them that it wasn’t rewarding at all. It was overwhelming, stressful, and pretty lonely. Now I’m a stay at home mom and I miss that job. Not because I feel like I’m missing out on something while I stay home with my daughter. I get to see nearly every important moment of my daughter’s life. There’s nothing greater than that! It’s because I’ve learned that there is nothing more important than the moments when you make a child feel feel like they matter. Those are defining moments. You are changing lives in those moments. Maybe just for now. But maybe, just maybe you are helping them turn on the light in their soul. And that is something they will need in their darkest hour. God has certainly blessed those children by bringing you into their lives. You and your family are in my prayers.