"Just Orphans?"

A few days ago, we took our entire family on a trip to the water park.

It was such a fun day!  The staff was incredibly nice and they even gave us and our kids a huge discount.  Every one of the kids had a great time and I was really grateful that we didn't have as many people swarming us to ask questions as we usually do.

While we were waiting for our car to pick us up though, a woman came over and made a comment about my kids that made me more upset than any other I've gotten so far (which is saying something) and I can't get it out of my head.

First, the woman came over to our group and just picked up one of our kids.  I promptly told her to put him down, that doing that is unacceptable, and to please go away.

She seemed shocked that I reacted the way I did and walked away with a half laughing, half confused look on her face like I was the most ridiculous person on the planet.

I was so upset that she would even think it was okay to just walk up to a group and pick up someone else's child, and even more upset at her reaction.

A few minutes later, she came back with her phone to take a picture.

Trying to keep my cool, I told her that was not okay and she needed to stop and go away.

I will never forget the response she gave:

"Why can't I?  They're just orphan children, right?"

At that point I lost it.

"No." I said. "They are my children."

I must have had crazy eyes because she looked at me, muttered an "oh," and walked away.

She left us alone after that but I looked back as we were getting in the cars and she was still trying to sneak a picture from across the courtyard.

The whole thing made my blood boil and still does whenever I think about it.

Those words keep ringing in my head.

"They're just orphan children."

I've been trying to figure out what made me so mad about the whole thing.  Why did this encounter make me so much more upset than any other time I've gotten rude comments about the kids or people trying to take pictures?

I think it's because this woman finally voiced the reason people try to take pictures or interact with our kids in a way they wouldn't with any other children.

Because they're just orphans.

I'm not mad because someone called my kids orphans.  Yes, they are loved and a part of a family but they are in fact legally orphans.

What makes me angry is that people think because they don't have parents, they all of the sudden don't deserve the same treatment that would be given to any other child.

Because they don't have a mother and a father, apparently that means they can be treated like zoo animals and that's okay.

That there's no one to care how they're treated so it doesn't matter.

But if I saw that woman again today, I would tell her that it does matter.

I would tell her that just because my kids have disabilities, doesn't mean they didn't hear and understand what she was saying about them and didn't pick up on the difference between the way she acted with them and all the other kids there.

I would tell her that whether a child has 2 parents, 1 parent, or no parent, that child is deserving of the same respect and consideration you would give to any other child.

I would tell her that no child deserves to be stared at, surrounded by groups of people, with a bunch of cameras in their face, whether they have parents or not and whether they have disabilities or not.

I would tell her that just because a child is an orphan, it doesn't mean they don't have people who love and care about them.

I would tell her that each orphan child was created by God and has worth and value in Him, regardless of situation.

I would tell her that no one is just an orphan.

And I'm going to pray that next time she doesn't see an orphan child, but that she would see what I see.

A child loved by God and made in His own image.  A child who has worth and value.  A child who is deserving of respect.  A child who is loved.