Lost and Found

I can imagine her mama, leaning over her tiniest little one as she said her goodbyes.

Her mama was wise to leave her where she did, I knew that when we rounded the corner and our guide pointed to the gazebo covered bench where my little one’s life shifted forever from a daughter to an orphan.

Next to a school, in the middle of a busy apartment complex.

She was left at 3:00 pm, right when school let out.

Her mama knew what she was doing.  There was a plan, one that put her precious one in line with someone who would make sure she was safe.

I could feel the sacredness of this spot as I walked up to it, my heart racing and breaking simultaneously.  Her “finding place” they called it.  This is where it happened, where my daughter was laid at 2 days old.  Where she was passed from her mama, to an orphanage to me.  The domino effect began right where I was standing.

This spot is where Esther experienced the greatest loss of her life, creating the greatest gap for a miracle.

I turned around to see my little one, toddling behind me, and the widest grin spread across her face.  I scooped her up into my arms and we stood in the very spot, her and I, mama and daughter.

Redemption washed over that bench as I declared the promises of God into her ear and whispered the name of Jesus over her.  I could feel a release in my heart, a peace that told me she was indeed mine, and that her past would have no hold on her.  I felt permission to joyfully hold her in this spot…amidst the tension of the suffering.

Jesus was there and He was greater than the pain that took place on that bench.

 

 

There is something extraordinary about being a “found one”.

Being found requires an action.  It is a choice by someone to scoop up and deliver to safety.

To deliver out of darkness and into light, take you from who you were to who you were made to be.

Jesus has found you, friend.  You are a found one.

Your “finding place” has no hold on you anymore.  That spot where it all fell apart, the place that is marked with pain and shame; the brokenness that happened there has been washed in the mercy and grace of God, your Father.

You can return to that spot and you can dance over it.  He has redeemed it.

You can spread out a wide goofy grin as it registers that that spot no longer defines you; that sin, that addiction, that heartache, that abandonment, that brokenness, it is not the end of your story.

It is simply where you were found.

Follow our families adventure in China on insatagram : @casshamm and @brenthammett