Today’s Episcopal Relief & Development Lenten devotional, by Dr. Christine Sine, is on the power of the cross to bring healing to body, soul and spirit – and to communities and even the world. Reading it evoked memories of the healing of my own son several years ago. In need of restoration myself after suffering a bad case of burnout, I found renewal and new purpose in a detsky dom (“baby home”) far away, on the Arctic coast of Russia. The ministry of healing in a hurting world became personal.

Serving as the hands and feet of Christ in helping my son recover from merely one year in an orphanage was the most difficult ministry I have ever done — but it was also the most powerful, fulfilling and important work I have done. My son came home to the United States malnourished, not even on the growth charts, and so emotionally scarred from not being held as an infant that it took nine months to be able to make eye contact with him.

Healing takes many forms, and it may start with the sacred rites of our baptisms and by mystical union with Christ. Yet there is a point when we must literally go out into the world and be, physically, the hands and feet of Christ, wherever we are called. We might endure extreme temperatures, sleepless nights, jet lag, dehydration, frustration or even harassment as we go about our ministries. Healing often involves literally touching, holding, soothing, and feeding those who are sick, dying, malnourished, and orphaned– and often when we ourselves are tired, exhausted or exasperated.

I found healing and reconciliation of all my disillusionment and hurt as I stepped onto an icy tarmac in Moscow. There, I found myself upheld and supported by the hands of strangers reaching out to steady me and my new baby — hands of former enemies, hands reaching out to me as we all made our journeys of healing. My child began to recover as he found new life with a new family in another part of the world.

Jack is now a healthy, happy and cheerful boy of seven and a delight to our family. He loves science and wants to build and design vehicles or buildings when he grows up. And I was delighted to learn recently that Episcopal Relief & Development (where I serve as a consultant) has received a grant to support children orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS in Zambia. I know firsthand that this is tremendously important work, and the news has brought events in my life full circle as I continue being part of this ministry of healing a hurting world.

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Cynthia Coe is a Christian formation consultant and writer of the Abundant Life Garden Project, a children's curriculum by Episcopal Relief & Development.

Photos: Top - Cindy Coe and her two sons playing in the gym at the regional baby home in Arkhangelsk, Russia, April 2005. Courtesy of Tom Coe. Bottom - Jack on the first day of school, August 2011. Courtesy of Cynthia Coe.