Heartache

This morning, I cried at the image of two of our beautiful City of Refuge girls serving their community in an outreach. Their faces, so clear and familiar, are more than I can bear right now.

My heart aches to hug them... To love on them... To serve them as I did for nine months.

I found this quote on the 147 Million Orphans blog (yes, that's a real number. 147 million too many...) just a few minutes ago, and it hit home so closely. Words of deep, inexplicable pain over leaving "the least of these" who have brought out the most of you...

"And all that gets you through those minutes is thinking about the next time you will be here……and the love that you have for this place and the children that inhabit it…….because were it not for the immense amount of love for them, you would never willingly subject yourself to this much pain and heartache…."

This leaves me speechless... The words I've been searching for, but haven't been able to come up with...

I know the heartache will go away to an extent. I know this will get easier. But my heart is in that place, with all 41 kids that are there... Oh Lord, tend to that peace of my heart... I ache so badly to return to it.