~M
In all honesty, I do not think I can yet put into words the multitude of things God has done through an average, ordinary Yard Sale Fundraiser. The more I reflect, the more difficult it becomes to express my heart.... ~M To see more pictures, click here!
0 Comments
You've been so self-sacrificing...
What about some time for yourself...rest? You've had some hard things over the years... These were concerns expressed during a couple of recent conversations regarding our adoption. It's nice to be loved and looked after that way. It's funny how people can think more highly of you than they ought! Obviously, they lovingly see past my self-centered, prideful, rebellious heart. I do not see myself as sacrificial at all. I know nothing of real sacrifice. As far as time and rest go, I've wasted too much time in my life on meaningless, trivial things. Hard things? Life can be hard. However, it is usually then that I find myself most desperate for Jesus. Yet, again, I believe that I know very little about "hard things". While those concerns expressed for my well-being are sweet...precious. I cannot see much truth in those things. The truth I can see is in this... There's this really lame commercial with this guy on a motorcycle who says he wants to "leave this life exhausted". I've adopted that phrase as my own. I want to leave this life exhausted. Of course, Jesus rested and spent time away, alone with the Father. That's not what I'm talking about here. I struggle on a daily basis, often moment by moment, but at the end of it all, I want to have exhausted my time, my energy, my heart, my resources...my life "to the glory of God the Father". (Phil 2:11) I've been given this one, brief life. I'll have an abundance of rest when I reach my home in heaven! and in this... "Instead He emptied Himself..." (Phil. 2:7) While I don't always get it right, my heart's desire is to "make every effort" (Phil 3:12) to follow my Savior's example of living a life emptying myself' for His name's sake. and also in this... Galatians 2:20 has always been incredibly significant to me. While the entire verse is profound, I'm consistently drawn back to the "who loved me and gave Himself for me" part. While I'm often my own worst enemy, I long to give my life as an offering to the One "who loved me and gave Himself for me". and again in this... "When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of Glory died... ...love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all." (Issac Watts) I believe this adoption is only one part of all of that... While I see no truth in those a fore mentioned concerns, I hope that as we go through the adoption process and continually give ourselves over more and more to God's purposes for our lives, that I really will know Him more intimately through sacrifice and hard things and rest in Him whose yoke is easy and burden is light. ~M My friend and I were sitting on a tree stump, watching our kids play together, and having a heart to heart. While we were talking, she reminded me of times over the years when she recalled me alluding to or clearly stating that I wouldn’t be having any more children. She remembered a particular time so clearly that she could even recall where I was standing.
Oh, I knew she was right. For years I’ve said that our two boys were all we would have. The first couple of years after our oldest son was diagnosed with Autism seemed to make that even more apparent for us. We felt we were giving all we had and were stretched thin. Of course, it has never been within our own ability to face the many challenges of parenting the two intelligent, energetic boys we have. It’s always had to be Christ in us. During the moments we’ve forgotten that fact, the insanity quickly reminds us! Even now, as I look back I am reminded of Proverbs 16:9: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” You won’t have to look hard at our little family of four to find big faults, several shortcomings, and a multitude of imperfections. But one thing you will hopefully also find is hearts that long to live “in a manner worthy of the gospel”, extend “the ministry of reconciliation”, and to “go and make disciples”. We’ve certainly missed the mark time and time again, but at our core, it is who we endeavor to be. In seeking to consistently make our family available to God, we’ve often gone in directions we did not expect. Most recently, over the past few years, God has brought some common themes to our attention with a new urgency and intensity that would once again take us in a new direction… “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded…” (Luke 12:48) “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14) “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.” (Joshua 4:24) “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17) “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27) “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22) From these truths, some specifics began to emerge. One thing (of many) that has become clear is God’s love for all people created in His image, His concern for the fatherless, and His charge to care for them. Over time, in different ways, the Holy Spirit made clear that adoption was a direction in which God was leading us, so we began to pray more and more for God’s confirmation. While I trust that God will continue to guide us in these truths in more specific, tangible ways, this is where He has chosen to lead us for now. This is only one chapter in God’s story for our family, and I find confidence in knowing He orchestrated it all and that He will be with us through each step along the journey. Through this process, I pray that God will use it to make Himself known. It has become clear to me over the past year that adoption is a living-breathing picture of the Gospel. Ephesians 2 and Galatians 4 speak of God’s great love and how He brought us out of our detrimental state and into His family through the blood of Christ. I long to see that very thing come from this adoption process: the Gospel demonstrated! We feel that God is calling us to take seriously His charge to care for the fatherless. We are in the process of adopting a precious child to add to our family. While we are in the very early stages of the process, we feel confident that God is leading us to adopt a child from Uganda. As many of you may already know, Africa is home to roughly 39% of all the world’s orphans. Uganda alone contains more than 2.3 million orphans. While Chris was in Uganda in April of 2011, he got a chance to meet some of these precious children at an orphanage he visited. While there are many godly men and women working very hard in such orphanages to care for those who have lost their parents, there is no substitute for a godly home. God instituted the home as the basic building block of society, and we believe that opening up our home to a new family member is the best way to honor God in caring for the fatherless. . .
|