“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are they works…” Psalm 139:14a
El Salvador is a beautiful country pledged with poverty, crime and gangs. The dogs and cats are starved beyond comprehension. The communities are often littered with trash and garbage. Even with all this ugliness there is beauty.
On multiple occasions I have witnessed a level of kindness that is sheer beauty. One thing that I have observed consistently is the beauty of how village children with disabilities are treated by their peers and community at large. They are treated with kindness and are accepted for who they are and not seen as an outcast. Yes, there are those who are abandoned at birth or left to die, but for those who are kept by their families, most are cherished and deemed valuable by their communities. In the villages where I work, I have never witnessed the child with disabilities being bullied.
Although I have witnessed this kindness on many occasions, it really touched my heart this past week during VBS in one of the villages. A blind youth of 17 years old came. He was immediately accepted by the children and guided around the yard to the various VBS stations of Bible lessons, Bible verse, crafts and snacks. After serving snacks to the children and mothers, I was serving the snacks to our volunteers when I notice one volunteer was missing. I found him feeding the youth who was blind. No one asked him to feed the youth. The volunteer’s act of kindness was done because he had compassion for the youth.
This was a gentle reminder of how our Heavenly Father cares for us. For those who have placed their faith in Christ alone and accepted the gift of Salvation, He has adopted us as sons and daughters. He doesn’t look at our “disabilities in the flesh”. He has created us in His image and each of us are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139: 14. He has compassion for us and his mercies are renewed every morning. Lamentations 3:22 – 23. May we renew our mercies, kindness and compassion daily for those around us who are less fortune than us for they are created in the image of God and wonderfully made. May we let God’s beauty shine through us amidst poverty and chaos surround us!