gems and rubies

There’s this little gem of a girl at the care center whose name is Ruby. She just finished second grade and  is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. She walks around with a huge smile on her face, big hair, and colorful shoelaces on her tennis shoes.

When I see her across the way, I always shout to her…. “RUBES!” She just looks at me and giggles.

I was spending time with her this week as we had a team who came and did a VBS for our kids. I followed her and her group around as they did crafts, played games, and heard a Bible story.

I was holding her hand at the end and as I said goodbye, she pulled me close and said “Emily, Dios te cuide” (Emily, may God take care of you). I almost cried in that moment…I don’t know if it was her sincere heart and faith…or maybe the truth that God does take care of all of us…or maybe just being completely blown away that she would say that to me. I wish I would have said it to her first. It was so encouraging to me and such a beautiful reminder to me that the Lord is our gentle shepherd.

I often feel so overwhelmed and sometimes disheartened even at the incredible needs I see all around me everyday in the community. Its hard for me to know what to do when a child whispers in my ear, “I am so hungry…there is no food in my house”…Its almost unbearable to see bruises on a young child knowing that they came from an adult…I feel so limited in my human-ness of how to care for people.

But then Ruby says it…May God take care of you.

Amen, Ruby. The Lord loves and cares. He knows every need, every detail, every pain…He cares for us.

May I daily entrust MYSELF and THESE CHILDREN into his loving care.