Sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder who is supposed to look after the little children. Especially now that there are three little girls living at Heavenly Haven. Where I’ve sort of known about their needs before, now more than ever I KNOW about their needs. From shampoo and toothpaste to underwear and socks – the list is endless. More often than not they are too shy to ask or tell us about a need, and we only find out when hair starts to look very stringy and oily, or when a hug reveals a sweaty smell. Bath time is no longer a luxury that happens on a Sunday, but a daily necessity. Socks are changed daily, instead of once a week.
The children devour everything that is put in front of them – almost as if they believe that there will be no food tomorrow. Everything has to be tasted and experienced. Suddenly there are three meals every day – nourishing, delicious, warm food to fill little tummies. Any day now they will start to realize that this is normal. There will always be food. There will always be hot water for a bath. There will always be shelter and warmth and hugs and love.
How does one convey the gratitude of a child who now sleeps in a bed, instead of on a blanket on the floor? How does one convey the special warmth of a content child’s face, scrubbed clean, hugging a teddy, and listening to a bedtime story before falling asleep?
A box full of children’s clothes arrived from a helpful sponsor, and I’ve never seen such excitement on children’s faces. Fortunately most of the items fitted one of the three, so suddenly there is a spare t-shirt, or a spare skirt. The ones that didn’t quite fit got passed on to the other haven families with children.
We went to the beach yesterday morning, and everybody pulled on shorts and t-shirts to frolic in the waves. How I wish that we could take in more children and look after them in a more hands-on manner!