Sometimes loving a child through their pain and brokenness is hard. You don't always get to see the end result, the reward of your hard work. Sometimes you are just a stepping stone in their journey, a small but mighty ripple in their ocean. So often what people are doing to help broken children is an invisible act of love not seen by others but remember it's always felt by the child.
To the teacher that brings in extra food for the child she knows hasn't ate a meal in days, the neighbor that always invites the 'troubled child' over to hang with her family so often she feel like she has an extra child or the parent of an adopted child that is in the trenches picking up the pieces to their child's broken past. Thank you! You may not hear that from the child today or see your seeds of love growing in them just yet, but one day it will happen. The next time you're having a hard time walking in love towards this child, grab them by the cheeks, look them in the eye and tell them they are worth it, because they are. Once upon a time I was worth it and I am forever grateful to all the people that looked me in the face as a broken child and said you are worth it, Nicole! Today I completely agree with them, all their endless acts of love were worth it. Don't give up the fight even when it seems overwhelming. Broken children have broken hearts but when someone tells a child they are worth it, watch and see the broken become whole again.