Linda*, an acquaintance, worked at a well-known orphanage. While visiting with her, she stated that she would not fight the accusation fired at her. “I’m leaving, and I’m not going to put up with any more lies.” I gave her time to gather her thoughts, and then Linda told of a disgruntled girl in the orphanage who implied that Linda had physically abused her. The dark bags under Linda’s eyes, the tight lips, and the wrinkle lines around them showed the stress and hurt Linda experienced.

“Can’t you fight this and prove you are not guilty?” I asked, mentally noting the moves I would make in the same situation.

“I am done here, and I don’t have the energy to fight anymore. I gave fifteen years of my life helping these girls get an education and providing, a safe place. It’s hard enough to have one of the girls say this about me, but it is another to be told by the authorities that I have to prove my innocence. I am guilty in the eyes of the law and have to prove that I’m not. I’m seventy years old and too old for this. I’m leaving for the States.”  A few days later Linda flew to the US.

While waiting for my Spanish teacher at Spanish class one day, my thoughts returned to Linda. This dear woman spent many years fulfilling her role working with the founder of the orphanage. None of us who worked in organizations to help children had immunity from claims of abuse. I shared her story with my Spanish teacher, who addressed my thoughts. Looking deeply into my eyes, he asked me if I felt fearful that something like this could happen to me. “Of course not!” I stated emphatically. Perhaps I spoke too quickly. What would such a scenario look like? It could happen to me. The “what ifs” paraded through my mind as I drove home.

Sometimes in our orphanage, a girl rebels and falsely accuses one of the workers for doing or saying something to her. We, in authority, investigate what prompted her reaction and then deal with it accordingly. But what if she took it to court officials? I had to confess that the possibility did cause a disturbance in my rational thinking. To hear accusations from the very ones I wanted to protect would cut a deep wound, but this is a possibility in the life of those who work in orphanages.

Many passages in God’s Word bring encouragement, and I knew I couldn’t leave behind the calling God had placed on my life. I resolved not to walk in fear but in the trust that the Lord would go with me through whatever the enemy threw my way. There are Scripture verses that speak of His protection from the wickedness of the enemy. There are also promises indicating that God will use for a good whatever the enemy intended for evil (Genesis 50:20). We at Shadow of His Wings Orphanage determined we would fight the accusation instead of letting it destroy an association designed to help needy and hurting children.

*Name has been changed.