Karen

January 12, 2014

Karen.
(I know this isn't your real name, but it's the only one I've ever heard for you,
so it will have to do.)

18 today.
(Even though you were probably only 14 or 15 when this picture was taken.)

No longer adoptable in the US. 

Not even with your sister, Chrystyna.

Yet -- you are only one of hundreds, possibly thousands, around the world, who reached this grim milestone today. Permanent orphans. And not only today, but every day of every year, others join you.

You will probably never have the opportunity to read these words, but I'm going to write them anyway.

This is what your Reece's Rainbow profile (which will probably disappear forever in a few days) said about you. It was posted beside the picture at the top of this post:
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Girl, Born January 12, 1996

 Karen is the older, biological sister of Chrystyna.   She is a beautiful Roma girl with dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin.  She is 17 years old.  She is healthy and smart and has no diagnosed special needs.    She goes to school and has no negative behavioral issues.  She is just a teen in need of a loving family!

 Karen and Chrystyna are living in different orphanages, but in the same region.  It would only be possible for Karen to be adopted WITH her younger sister.  Due to her age, she can not be adopted on her own.

If you might be seeking a sibling set, please inquire!  Both girls need a loving family!

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It's all the information I have about you. How I wish I knew more.

Even though at least a few Americans shouted for you, their voices, like yours, went unheard.

• Here is the voice of one who did her best to find a home for you and your sister.
• Here and here and here are 3 blog posts (of many) my daughter, Pam wrote about you.

And yet, there is hope. You do have a Father. You can't see Him -- not now -- except with the eye of faith, yet He sees you. He marks your every struggle. He reads and understands your innermost thoughts. He puts all your tears in a bottle, and writes their circumstances in His book. (Psalm 56:8.)

"A father of the fatherless,

and a judge of the widows,

is God in his holy habitation."

Psalms 68:5

"Can a woman forget her sucking child,

that she should not have compassion on the [daughter] of her womb?

yea,

they may forget,

yet will I not forget thee (Karen)."

Isaiah 49:15

"Behold, I have graven thee (Karen) upon the palms of my hands;

thy walls are continually before me."

Isaiah 49:16

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?

and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Fear ye not therefore,

ye (you, Karen) are of more value than many sparrows."

 Matthew 10:29-31

Even though humanity seems to have let you down, you have a heavenly Father who has watched over you since conception. He knows every detail of your life: How you wound up in an orphanage in the first place. How every single individual who has ever crossed your path has treated you, whether it be for good or for ill. What opportunities you have had -- and those you haven't had.

Karen, you might find this hard to believe, but God really does love you. He has a plan for your life. Your life is not in vain, unless you make it so. He died for you just as surely as He died for anyone born in more "privileged" circumstances. His plan for you is just as special as the plan He has for any of the rest of us. He has a special job that only you can fill, and He stands by ready and willing to show you that spot, and to help you fill it.

Contrary to what many people (even a lot of "Christians") believe, God is not the author of sin and suffering. Another being, created perfect by God, chose to rebel. He it is who is behind all the evil and misery in this world. You can read more about it here and here. These two chapters come from the first and last books of a 5 volume set, covering the entire span of earth's history from before Satan rebelled in heaven through the earth made new, sometime in the very near future. Volume 2 begins here; volume 3 begins here, and volume 4 begins here. Read them in order -- they are fascinating reading! (But don't expect to get through all of them in one sitting -- each book averages over 700 pages, for a total of 3600 pages.)

God might choose to bring people into your life who can help you find His plan for you. He might choose to lead you to a copy of His Word (if you don't already have access to it), and guide you to just the passages He wants you to read. He might even choose to speak directly to you. If you have access to a Bible, though, be sure you test every message that says it is from God against that word. There are many voices out there claiming to be Him who are really impostors, out to take advantage of you. (Including, but not limited to, those voices in your country of birth who have convinced parents that their precious children are "better off" in institutions than in families.)

I will probably never know, this side of heaven, what happened to you. I have been praying for you for a long time, and I will continue to do so. If we never have a chance to meet in person, on this earth, I hope we can meet in heaven, so you can share with me all the ways God worked in your life to get you there.

In the meantime, it behooves those of us with voices and media access to do all we can to facilitate the adoption of others before they age out. Even more important, though, each of us has a responsibility to live every aspect of our lives in such a way that we rightly represent God. To keep our minds full of His word, and to live by it, regardless of the (human) consequences. To share His love, in word and deed, with all those around us. To do whatever we can to hasten His coming, so that the orphan problem, and all the other problems this old world faces, come to a permanent and final end.

This battleground-of-the-universe we call "planet earth" is in its final days. Satan knows that he has but a short time (Revelation 12:12), and he is doing all in his power to make as many people as miserable as he can, in as many ways as he can think of, and to make sure as many people as he can deceive a little longer share his certain doom.