Letter to God {Compassion International}

Dear God,

     If you would have told me a few years back that I would put my selfish ambitions aside and love three girls that I have never met unconditionally, I don't know if I would have believed it. My, how you have changed my heart so much.
      Admittedly, I used to get angry watching all of those "Feed the Children" commercials on tv. I mean, how could I help? I barely had enough money to support myself, let alone sponsor a child. I wondered if that would ever change and sometimes doubted that it would. Then I moved and began to attend a church with my (now)husband.
     The senior pastor's wife was a Compassion Advocate and I got my first view of Compassion at a Christmas Tea that they hosted as their main fundraiser for the year. As I got to know more about her and the church, I began to open up to the wall of faces that were being sponsored by the church members. Each child had a different story and each child was loved by someone they never met.
     I now know that You placed me there to soften my heart. You gave me the desire to want to sponsor a child and get to know them, pray for them, and make a difference in their lives. You wanted me to love them.
     I distinctly remember when I first told my husband that I felt that You were calling me to sponsor a child. I felt so blessed to be getting married and knew that it was the right time. I prayed and prayed that You would reveal which child You had for me to sponsor. I would walk to the Compassion table, pray, and look through the packets waiting for You to tell me which one was mine. I remember the feeling you gave me as I showed my husband her picture and we agreed to sponsor our first little girl.
     I remember when you told me that it was time to sponsor another child. Again, I spoke to my husband about and we prayed for the resources to be able to do so. You were faithful and blessed us and we wanted to give back. We chose another girl, an older child this time, and sent in the packet. I didn't feel the same connection with that child, but knew You had a plan.
     That child ended up already being sponsored. We got a phone call that there was another child who had been waiting for sponsorship who was the same age and from the same country. We were encouraged to look at our online account and see if we wanted to sponsor her. When I saw this child, I immediately knew that she was the one I had been searching for.
     I am so thankful for the relationships that You have built with our sponsor children. The unconditional love we feel for them grows every day. I look forward to writing and receiving letters and praying for our girls together. I cherish them dearly and think of them as family.
     Of course, I wanted to sponsor more children, but since we are now living on one income, we can not afford another sponsorship. Once again, You were faithful and fulfilled the desire that you put in my heart by way of becoming a correspondent sponsor. Our third girl is just as beautiful as the others and I can't wait to be able to impact her life and tell her that we love her.
     Thank you for the opportunity to love these girls and for softening my heart. I am forever grateful for the new additions to our family and for the means that You have given us to provide for them.

Love,

Kate