Jireh Kids Win District Competiton

I love to take long walks with the kids at Jireh Children’s Home. We hop, jump, skip, and sing. . . and usually by the time we get back, I’m about ready to pass out.

Recently I couldn’t stop smiling on one of those walks. The four youngest girls had a song they wanted to sing. It was a song they had been preparing for the district competition in two more days. And so without further ado, they began to belt out their lyrics. Their voices ranged from husky to high, and there was no doubt that these girls had confidence.

These are the words from the chorus they sang: “WE WILL NOT BE SHAKEN, WE WILL NOT BE MOVED, WE ARE HOLDING ON TO JESUS . . . FOREVER, FOREVER, FOREVER” and then some “UH, UH, UH’s” as they clapped and bounced all over the place. And they did it over and over again with a gusto that was contagious. I’m not much of a songbird but it was all I could do to keep from joining in.

But somewhere in the midst of the adrenaline rush, my eyes filled with tears. They weren’t sad tears but happy tears. Something incredible had happened in these girls’ lives. Their words seemed so real and internalized. I could only whisper, “Lord, thank you for where you have brought them from.”

It was just a year and a half ago that Barbara had come to live at the home. She couldn’t smile or receive love and affection from anyone. This was after spending the 4th year of her life fetching water, gathering firewood, searching for food, and bathing her sick and dying mother, who eventually died in her arms. The other girls had also come from “shaken worlds” where they had been abused, neglected and abandoned. And now to watch and hear them sing these words represented all the beautiful changes that had taken place in their lives.

I want you to know that two days later these girls went to the district competition and they won! It was a big event with over 500 children represented. Groups of all ages and sizes were competing, many from big schools and other nonprofit organizations. But near the end, our little girls went forward and began to quote Scripture and sing with all their hearts. Everyone knew at once that they had won the competition.

I thank God for the lyrics of this song and for what it can mean to all of us. For sure the “earthquakes” will come, but we don’t have to be moved or shaken if we learn to hold onto Jesus.

WRITTEN BY BETTY JO MCLELLAND