“My feet they are sore, and my limbs they are weary; Long is the way, and the mountains are wild;Soon will the twilight close moonless and dreary Over the path of the poor orphan child.Why did they send me so far and so lonely, Up where the moors spread and gray rocks are piled?Men are hard-hearted, and kind angels only Watch o'er the steps of a poor orphan child.Ye, distant and soft, the night-breeze is blowing, Clouds there are none, and clear starts beam mild;God, in His mercy, protection is showing, Comfort and hope to the poor orphan child.Ev'n should I fall o'er the broken bridge passing, Or stray in the marshes, by false lights beguiled,Still will my Father, with promise and blessing, Take to his bosom the poor orphan child.There is a thought that for strength should avail me; Thought both of shelter and kindred despoiled;Heaven is a home, and a rest will not fail me; God is a friend to the poor orphan child.”

“There is a kind of virtue that lies not in extraordinary actions, not in saving poor orphans from burning buildings, but in steadfastly working for a world where orphans are not poor and buildings comply with decent fire codes.”

“Isn't that about an orphan?" I asked. I hated those kinds of books. "You can't avoid orphan stories, child. Every story is an orphaned story. Life is an orphan story. We are all orphaned sooner or later.""In my case, sooner.""Yes, in your case, sooner. But you are strong, and God never gives us more than we can bear.”

“You show me a boy who brings a snake home to his mother and I'll show you an orphan.”

“Slowly, God is opening my eyes to needs all around me. In Scripture, God revisits this issue of caring for the poor- an echo that repeats itself from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible acknowledges that the poor will always be part of society, but God takes on their cause. The Mosaic law of the Old Testament is filled with regulations to prevent and eliminate poverty. The poor were given the right to glean- to take produce from the unharvested edges of the fields, a portion of the tithes, and a daily wage. The law prevented permanent slavery by releasing Jewish bondsmen and women on the sabbatical and Jubilee year and forbade charging interest on loans. In one of his most tender acts, God made sure that the poor- the aliens, widows, and orphans- were all invited to the feasts.”

“You can't avoid orphan stories, child. Every story is an orphan story. We are all orphaned sooner or later.”