On rare occasions, a photo stops your racing mind in its tracks.   That happened today with not just one, but a dozen images shot by photojournalist Kate Brooks.   Each one gripped my heart and squeezed it.   Precious lives…children created in the image of God…yet tasting each day the full bitterness of our world’s brokenness…not mainly in a single sharp moment of violence…but in day after day, year after year of the isolation and stagnation of callous institutions.

The description on the website explains, “In Russia orphans with mental and physical disabilities or learning disorders are classified into one of three categories: debil, imbecile or idiot. Those labeled as imbeciles and idiots are permanently institutionalized while still toddlers.”

Those who stand between the many orphans who wait for families and the families who wait to gladly receive them would do well to grapple with the realities these photos reveal.

See the series of photos on Kate’s website here.