When we began our family over seven years ago, I did not fully grasp that a mission field was also being birthed. We, of course, prayed over each of our babies and dedicated their lives to the Lord. As our children have grown and developed, a greater calling has been given to me to make Jesus known to each of them in hopes that they will walk with Christ someday and make His great love known to others.
He clung to that doorway like his life depended on it. He screamed like he was being kidnapped, which is probably what it felt like to him. He cried and cried and cried.
She talked. Talked and talked and talked. On the drive home, she counted to 100. Twice. She tried to ignore the sobs and sniffles of the little brother sitting next to her. She put on a brave face.
The other two just watched. Stared in wonder at the drama unfolding around them. Gave up space in their rooms to allow another person to live there. Shared their toys and clothes. Shared their mommy and daddy.
This is how my story merged with the story of adoption. Dramatically. Traumatically. Saying yes to the call to adopt was the best, hardest thing we have ever done. Prior to that yes, we were living the ‘American Dream.’ Living in a nice suburb on a greenbelt. Two kids, one boy, one girl. We had it all.
Then God flipped our world upside down.
Why should we look outside of the church to reach people?
We have the Cube. We have individualized outreach ministries. We have mission trips.
Why should we look outside of the church to reach people in our daily lives?
From an overflow of the knowledge and understanding of our faith, we know who others need to know—Jesus. We must look outside the church to reach people because the truth is the church as an establishment cannot reach every person by simply existing as a building. The actual church (believers) must meet people where they are in order to spread the Gospel.
This month on the blog we are focusing on different expressions of love. As we seek to live lives of love, the best way to truly love others is to first and foremost personally receive the incredible gift of God’s love toward us. When I think about His gift of love and the many ways it manifests in our lives, I can’t help but parallel it to gifts we give one another.
God’s Love is like a lighthouse - it is a comfort to those tossed to and fro, and shines brighter than all surrounding darkness (Psalm 26:8).
God’s Love is like a fire - it is atoning, refining, and enduring (Hebrews 12:29, Psalms 136:26).
God’s Love is like a friend who gives you their sandwich when you forgot yours - it is sacrificial and generous, a simple truth at its core (John 15:13).
Yielding is laying down the idol of control and choosing to trust God. It’s trusting God over my own ideas about what would be best for me. Yielding is making time to listen.
I recently asked Instagram followers in a poll (it was very scientific!) what they thought of the term “yielding” in regard to their prayer life. The most common answers were “surrender” and “listening”. These were lovely responses, causing me to wish my first instinctive answer was equally as graceful.
My two-year-old granddaughter has found her words. They flow ceaselessly with a variety of expressions, cascading in often indistinguishable words, phrases or bits of songs that are bouncing around in her head. I smile as I watch her daddy lovingly bend down to listen to her. He hears her heart, not just her words. He knows her needs, even when she doesn’t. She responds to his voice and his promptings. And he responds to her with words and actions that demonstrate his great love to her.
