I remember a large orphanage in Memphis when I was growing up, located on an impressive block of prime real estate in Midtown Memphis. Black wrought iron fencing wrapped around the property. We passed by this location whenever we drove down Poplar Avenue or when we visited Overton Park, and I would wonder about the lives of the children in this special place. In my limited understanding of prayer, I prayed for them as we drove by. Occasionally I would see the nuns outside dressed in their long black robes and white habits, and I was in awe of these women.

Once a year, during the summer, the home for children would host a large carnival on the grounds. This was a major fundraiser to help meet the needs of the orphanage. Many fundraisers in the city throughout the year supported the efforts of the home as well.

Aunt Lucy surprisingly took us to the carnival one year. With excited anticipation, I hoped to see the children playing outside who lived there. I did not see any children, but the grounds were filled with people. There were games of chance with large wooden spinning wheels and lots of food. I cannot recall any rides, but we were given a little money to spend. I thought about the kids. Were they watching the activities from inside the building through the windows? What did their daily lives look like? I wanted to be with them, to live here with them, where seemingly they were wanted and given care and love. I wanted to know how that would feel. I thought that even if they were not loved much, at least they shared life with lots of kids and somehow that would be better than life with my aunt.

Years passed. Life happened. Then I heard that the original St. Peter’s Home had been demolished and there was new construction. Senior care had replaced the orphans. Abortion clinics were opening nationwide, replacing the need for orphanages, and they were advertising openly on billboards. Apparently it was more profitable to kill babies than to raise children. America was already in a moral decline in the 1970s, and abortion accelerated and expanded the effects on our crumbling society. When I was a young adult, the cost of adoption was very steep and the process took years. I thought it should not be so difficult and expensive to match those who need love with those who desire to give much love.

My thoughts traveled back to the days of the children’s home. Where were those children now? What had become of their lives? I thought of famous people who had grown up as orphans including Babe Ruth, Steve Jobs, Dave Thomas (founder of Wendy’s), Edgar Allen Poe, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Aristotle. Then there were the orphan trains of the past and those unknown stories. In the bible there were orphaned children, children who were unwanted or unloved by a parent, and yet their lives had value and had contributed to history and to the lives of other people in their day.

As a child, I wanted to be loved and to live in a stable home. Those basic needs were my greatest desires. I hated the turmoil of our childhood and the daily uncertainty of what could happen. I had envied the children at the St. Peter’s Home for the stability that the orphanage provided.

Decades passed before I discovered the greatest love from Jesus, the Son of God. During the years of childhood, mixed in with the unpleasant, I experienced times of happiness, personal achievement, and joy. I am very thankful for my life. I am thankful that I was blessed to be a wife. I am thankful that I was blessed to be a mother to a wonderful son and a marvelous daughter. I am thankful to be the grandmother to an incredible grandson. Good and bad happens to the bad and to the good. I am thankful that my father, at first, and then Aunt Lucy, took my sister and me to Sunday School. I am thankful that God pursued me for decades until I could believe and accept His love for me in spite of me. Somehow, as only God can, He healed my heart and transformed my view of the past and my life. I am thankful.

Children need to know about Jesus and His love for them. What happens to them is not a gauge of their value, their worth. God is present when situations change and nothing is the same. We do not need to kill more babies. We do not need the government to legislate life. We need the love of God to flow out of our hearts into the lives of those around us. O LORD, fill us with Your love and enable us to love others like Jesus. Help those who need Your love to receive what You freely give.