A beautiful baby girl wrapped in a blanket was abandoned near the door of a department store in China. A small piece of paper was pinned to the blanket. In Chinese script it read, “Her name is Si Ya.” In English it means, “Thinking of you with enchanted thoughts.”
The mother disappeared out of the baby’s life forever that day. Perhaps the reason she abandoned her infant had to do with the baby’s health. Si Ya was born with a serious heart condition — her skin had a continual bluish tint.
The baby was sent to an orphanage. Workers there made sure she had the best care at their disposal, but they had limited means. They didn’t expect the child would live long. However, Si Ya surprised them — she had a happy disposition and a strong will to live.
When she was two years old, adoption workers tried to find a family to adopt her. She needed open-heart surgery to repair her heart. The surgery would have to be done at a U.S. hospital with advanced technology. Even though the child had a strong will to live, it was doubtful she would survive the year without the surgery.
Finally a family was found, and arrangements were made to send the little girl to the U.S. where she would have her surgery and a new life. Even though she had a heart condition, Si Ya was loved and very much wanted by this family.
Do you know that even though the entire human race has a tragic heart condition, they are still loved and very much wanted by God to become part of His family? The heart condition they have is “sin.” It is a serious disease that causes spiritual blindness, apathy, and eventually leads to everlasting death and separation forever from the God who made them. Their need is urgent! They need treatment before it is too late.
The story begins when my wife found biographical information about Si Ya on the Internet. The site asked for assistance in finding a surgeon in the U.S. who would perform the needed heart surgery without cost. My wife eagerly contacted several doctors and various organizations on behalf of Si Ya, but without success. They told her the child would need to be adopted by an American family before they could help.
We hadn’t known until then that Si Ya was adoptable. It didn’t take long for us to decide to bring her into our family of six! That very same day we contacted the adoption agency to say we wanted the child and began the adoption process.
Plans were made. Si Ya would arrive in the U.S. in three weeks. We would meet her in Rochester, Minnesota, where we planned on being beside her as she recovered from the operation. If successful, the surgery would enable her to lead a normal life. Other children who had this same operation were playing soccer and sports. We felt sure Si Ya would soon be doing the same.
It didn’t take long for this little girl to get locked into our hearts, even though we hadn’t seen her yet. Our children bought presents for her — little things to show they loved her already. We talked about rearranging the bedrooms. The days were flying by, and we were excited!
It was just a week away from the anticipated time of Si Ya’s arrival in the U.S. We wondered how long it would take her to recover from open-heart surgery and how long it might be until we could bring her home.
But it was not to be. Half an hour into my teaching day, my principal came into my classroom and told me I needed to go to the office where my wife was waiting. I found her in tears. She told me, weeping, that Si Ya had died during the night. Our hearts were broken.
“Little Si Ya, you lived a short life of two years. My wife and I did think of you with enchanted thoughts. I hope the angels in heaven tell you of a family that wanted you and longed for you and were doing all they could to bring you home. I hope they tell you of two sisters and two brothers who were going to welcome you into their lives and share everything they had with you. Little Si Ya, I hope the angels tell you that this family wept for you and their hearts were broken when they heard you died. I hope they explain that your family is looking forward to telling you in person how much they love you, and that we planned to welcome you into our home. It never happened, but someday soon we will be with you in our true home in heaven. You will never come to us, but we will come to you.
“I’m very glad that suffering will never touch you again and that you are in the presence of God. I know you will be happy in heaven, and I am sure you are finding out how much God loves you in enchanted ways. Loneliness and sadness are now only distant shadows of your past.”
I don’t always understand the “why” of what God does, but He loves each of us with a love that is full of enchanting thoughts. His love is so great that He gave His Son for us. On the cross, the Lord Jesus paid the sinner’s debt, so that those who believe and receive the Saviour will have a home in heaven.
It was with great urgency that treatment was sought for little Si Ya. She wasn’t going to live unless she got treatment swiftly. We knew this, but it hit us with a shock when she died. It is with great urgency that I ask you to think of what Jesus Christ has done for you. Because of sin, your eternity hangs in the balance.
The urgency of the message is this: Unless souls believe on Christ and His finished work on the cross, they will not gain admittance into heaven. God loves the sinner, but He hates their sin. It is only by faith in Christ that sinners can find forgiveness. Time is short. If you ignore the message of God’s grace, you run a horrible risk of losing your soul forever. Continue apart from Christ and you will someday get the shock of your life when you find out the decisions you made in this life will be confirmed for the endless ages of eternity. What terrible heartbreak is in store for those who reject the Saviour’s love!
God loves you. He wants you to become part of His family through faith in Christ Jesus. Don’t refuse His love, but come to the Saviour right now. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)).