What Schaefer Taught Us - Part 2

Margaret Sanger, former President of Planned Parenthood, said infamously in the 1930s, "Colored people are like human weeds and need to be exterminated."

Her goal of genocide and Hilter-like eugenics has been alarmingly successful with more African-American babies being aborted than born in places like New York City.

The strategic placement of abortion clinics in minority areas contributes to this. (I do realize this is a controversial issue. Some observe that it is in those minority areas, which are often low-income areas, where clinics should be since those are the people who are the most adversely affected by an unplanned pregnancy and those are the places where unplanned pregnancies occur more frequently.)

Then there's also the contribution of white manipulation, heavy-handedness, and oppression which my friend Hope shared with me.

Hope, a previous member of an African-American church in Detroit, told me of Planned Parenthood approaching church leaders of black congregations and offering money to them so they would refer members of their congregation for abortions. This wasn't to "help" the poverty-stricken during a time when they were trying to get on their feet economically. This was all part of Planned Parenthood's goal in the "Negro Project," to eliminate those they saw as unwanted and undesirable in society.

Who inculcated these minorities and lower-income individuals with the mindset that it's better for them to walk to the nearby, conveniently located abortion clinic to get an abortion than it is to walk there to get condoms? Planned Parenthood made the bed for them and they are lying in it. Abortions are how Planned Parenthood wanted births controlled. Not condoms. Condoms don't always work. But killing does.

Unfortunately, there is conflicting opinion on the matter of abortion in the African-American community itself. One outspoken pro-life black pastor declared, "The most dangerous place for an African-American is inside the womb." This statement created no small stir among African-Americans in the recent past, some trying to use it to educate on unprotected sex and its consequences. Other blacks dismissed it and were offended by what they called racist wording.

Amidst the confusion, one person was clear on what his goal was in the abortion industry. That man was Dr. Joon-Nahm Ann, abortionist at 4132 Schaefer in Dearborn, MI.

Upon entering the back door of his clinic one of those freezing mornings in February of 2012, he looked at us and gave us the Nazi salute. And who were the women sitting in his waiting room that we had watched go in the front door just minutes before? A disproportionate amount of African-American women.

Coincidence? Or precisely the way Sanger planned for it to be?

 

Posted with Blogsy

What Schaefer Taught Us - Part 1

In God's providence, Kim Bean from 40 Days for Life contacted us in mid-November 2012, asking if we would take over the leadership for the next 40 day prayer vigil coming up in February 2013. We met with her at the end of November to see what would be required. As we prayed about it in the following weeks, we decided if she would agree to co-lead the next campaign with us, we would do it.

She agreed and on a frigid, snowy Saturday morning in February, we layered up our clothes and our hearts and topped the hill on Schaefer Ave in Dearborn, getting that same sickening pit in our stomachs as when we watch Schindler's List. The darkness of what went on within the concrete walls of that little white box of a building seemed to make the sun hide its face.

We knew the laws and we knew we'd follow Kim's experienced lead.

Contrary to what the media will have you believe, pro-lifers aren't a bunch of Bible-thumping, clinic-bombing, lunatics untouched or unaware of the complications of the issues surrounding the abortion debate. Many of them are people who go on the front lines to find people who need help and resources and seek to give whatever they can to help that expectant mom through this significant unplanned event in her life. Some are liasons equipped with all the information an expectant mom would need to know, able to refer her to medical facilities, or housing options, or utility funding. Others are out there to give what they can of their own possessions, their car, their house, their money, and their time not just for the sake of the baby but for the sake of the expectant moms and dads who are in desperate situations. And they aren't just committed to these people for the 9 months of pregnancy. They are committed to making lasting relationships to help see them take healthy steps for their future. One family owned a nice bed and breakfast in an unscale area and offered the rooms to families needing housing.

Pro-lifers also aren't ignorant that the people who work at these facilities need jobs to support themselves and their families. So relationships were built with them to see what their needs were and if we could help find them a job outside of the industry. One of the workers would wave to Kim and even crossed the sidewalk to hug her regularly before her shift started and thank her for her kindness and help. She wanted out but felt trapped.

Amazing commitment and love. Not judgment and condemnation. Where do you read these stories in the headlines?

Posted with Blogsy

We Have Obama To Thank

As Pastor Ken says, "Everybody works for God."

And President Obama is no exception.

The November election of 2012 was formative for us. A pro-abortion president was reelected for another 4-year term. As I stated in Sunday's post, earlier in 2012, we had briefly explored 40 Days for Life as one option for how to more actively stand for life but hadn't settled there yet. I'm not sure excalty why this was the case, but the election of 2012 brought with it the full weight, for the first time in our adult lives, and subsequent realization of the morally slippery slope we were on as a country and it hit us square between the eyes. Maybe we were at a more settled state in our adulthood, no longer working our way through the very preoccupied seminary years. Maybe we were at a more settled state in our family life, emerging from the darkness of dealing with long and difficult pregnancies as well as having growing children whose eyes were being opened to the sad world around them. We were keenly aware the slip had been happening for many years (read decades) before, but for whatever reason, we had clarity at this point and knew this was our time to try and take matters into our own hands instead of passively relying on conservative politics to do what needed to be done.

Journal entry from November 8, 2012:

"Obama winning reelection has made us certain about getting involved in [some type of] Right to Life action. We're going to have to be more active this way, since our time in the voting booth is one thing, but not quite enough."

 

Posted with Blogsy

I'll Go There

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I had some uneducated apprehensions about pursuing adoption. I'm going to be honest about these apprehensions because I think it will be helpful. It's easy to post articles like I've see float around social media on "What NOT to Say to Adoptive Parents," but truthfully, I'm going to be an adoptive parent and have had to wrestle with some of those very things we want to self-righteously shame other people for asking/saying. Someone humbly and patiently bore with my ignorance so I could gain more knowledge and I'm grateful for it. And we're adopting, in part, because of it!

1) Will I love this child like the child/children I gave birth to? Will I feel like he/she is "my own"?

2) Will I be tempted to spoil them/over compensate because of their difficult story?

3) Will I find my child from a different ethnicity as beautiful as my children with my and my husband's genes?

4) Has God eradicated from my heart the sinful racism I was born with so that I can genuinely appreciate and educate my child in his/her birth culture?

5) Will my child have a propensity to different/"scarier" sins because of being adopted/their birth parent's history?

6) What are birth parents really like? Are they the stereotypical irresponsible teen drug addicts sleeping around with whomever, whenever?

7) What if the birth parents change their mind?

8) How expensive is adoption and how do you get that much money?

Adoptive parents aren't people with super-human ability to overlook and love more than other people are. We've had to address our own fears and lack of knowledge as we approached adoption. If we are humble and recognize that, perhaps we can actually help answer peoples questions and objections and assist them in gaining correct information. I've heard many people place adoptive parents on a pedestal. But honestly, sometimes adoptive parents can feed that perception. If you can be a parent in general, chances are you can be an adoptive parent too. All parenting is hard, sometimes heartbreaking, but often joyfully rewarding work. Different situations have their unique challenges, and while the specifics will look different depending on those circumstances, you need support for both, you need basic education for both, you need adjusted and realistic expectations for both, and you need faithful, sacrificial love for both. So don't let the fact that you have questions and fears stop you from considering adoption as a viable option for adding to your family.

NOTE: I'm speaking in this post of adoption in general and the need to normalize it and not make it seem extraordinary and doable only for those whose love is "elite" or who struggle with infertility. Obviously there are children, particularly children from severely abusive backgrounds, as well as special needs children and babies born with drug addictions, who have exceptional medical and psychological needs. These children may require additional care and their adoptive parents may need more training and education. I'm not minimizing or ignoring those circumstances, just not dealing with them specifically in this post.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Wilberforce, MLK Jr., Kim Bean, and Adoptive Parents

Early in 2012, God orchestrated a few circumstances that challenged us in our thinking and consequently, our action. I read a biography of William Wilberforce and John Newton and we watched Amazing Grace, a movie about their fight against the slave trade. We also were educating our girls more about the Civil Rights Movement and in turn got more of an education ourselves. Matt encouraged us to identify what the main civil rights issue was of our day that we were ignoring like so many white-privileged Christians had done in the past with the issue of slavery. We became convinced the issue in our day was *abortion. Obviously, some Christians (and Catholics for that matter) had been fighting for life for decades before, but we had never personally gotten involved in actively trying to speak up for the most fundamental right - the right to live - of those who couldn't speak for themselves. *(Interestingly, earlier this year, Thabiti Anyabwile, posts his similar conclusion here.)

We weren't sure exactly where to get started, but explored an opportunity with a ministry called 40 Days for Life which we heard about through our homeschool co-op. We visited an abortion clinic near us to hold a peaceful prayer vigil organized by that ministry. We also attended a memorial service for babies whose lives had been taken there within the past year. It was on these occasions we became acquainted with a woman named Kim Bean, leader of the Dearborn chapter of 40 Days for Life.

Kim is one of the most approrpriately compassionate people I've ever met. I say appropriately, because she isn't controlled by her emotions (although she feels the right things passionately) and she opens her mouth discerningly, with great wisdom. Her influence was unforgettable.

Around this time, not realizing how the two tracks would eventually coincide, God also crossed our lives with a few families, also from our homeschool co-op, who had adopted transracially. We were praying about adding to our family again and had considered the possibility of adoption, but were still very uninformed. With these new friends, I had the chance to get some of our questions answered. I would sit in the nursery when it was our time to serve together and just grill them with questions. I also got to see them interact together as families and some of my uneducated apprehensions were dissolving.

In May of 2012, we attended our first meeting at Bethany Christian Services in Madison Heights, to gather more information about the possibility of adopting. Sadly, the main things we took away from that first meeting were that there was an overwhelming need, particularly for minority adoptions, and that it was overwhelmingly expensive! We knew we didn't have that kind of money and left less certain than we were before that this was something God would have us pursue.

 

Posted with Blogsy

No Turning Back

Our lives met that summer. Paths crossed and eyes locked. Love tiptoed in and grabbed hold of our hearts and turned them right over. Although everything seemed just perfect when we'd met for lunch, counting the hours until we could talk or see each other again. Trying as hard and we could to be reasonable about this whole relationship thing. Yeah. Like that happened. Then you put a diamond on it in November. And the rest is a flurry of white satin, fresh calla lilies, and covenant-making, with fondant on top.

I threw what few things I had left at my mom's house into my suitcase that significant summer day and we loaded into my little Honda CX - now ours - and I followed you north without looking back. Instead, I looked...at you.

When you talked. When you ate. When you listened. When you didn't even know it. My eyes were fixed.

We had to start making a way in life - now ours - and sometimes it was as clumsy as a three-legged race...trying to work in tandum but tripping up and falling down and wondering if we'd ever move forward in this mission God had for you and me - now us.

When no one else saw us he did and in mercy he told us to take up our mess and walk.

"For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and He will guide us." (Psalm 48:14)

I met your people and they became my people. Your meat-loving appetite influenced me. And you even started to consider food from Panera to be a meal, not a snack. But what I began to notice wasn't that I was becoming more like you or you were becoming like me but that we were becoming us...a whole new unity...not completely you and not completely me, but absolutely right.

Almost without noticing, we were moving forward together without struggle, not even always side by side. And that was fine. We had a mutual trust and a deeper understanding that freed us to do what we needed. Still my eye would catch yours across the room and you'd throw me a heart-melting wink and our world would stop momentarily - eyes still fixed. But then my people, your people, our people...all His people. We were on mission.

Then it came time to leave those people and I found myself still looking at you. Not back. I chose you again over my comfort and familiar.

I hope you saw it in every box I packed, that I gladly gave it up for you. I hope you noticed it in every hard goodbye I said, that I loved you more. I know you did, because you know when a woman follows a man it doesn't mean she has forgotten the way or can't find it on her own. You know I'm on this path whether you're with me or not, and I know that's one of the reasons you love me. I'm not a tagalong. But following my Lord often shows itself most by my willingness to follow my man. And, I'm all in with you, Honey, no turning back.

 

To keep it real though, occasionally this path with you can feel about as spacious as a public transport in China. Is there really room for us both on here and are you sure you didn't miss your stop?! :)

But along with the narrowness, also comes a chance to widen my heart, to make room for more people to love and more love to grow for the same people, including you. Because God's love is an ocean and from my heart should flow waves of it reaching all He can through me.

Following also means I doubly feel the joy and pain of the path. We see the pain of our people and carry that pit in our stomachs along with them. We see the the Spirit drawing attention to Christ in someone's life and we have no greater joy! But too, I see my sin struggles and I see your sin struggles. I feel my need for the gospel but I also feel your need for the gospel. You struggle through a passage you're preaching on and to some degree I do too. We are united. When your heart gets cut mine bleeds. And when you smile my heart laughs.

Did anyone tell me marriage is borrowing another persons trouble and triumphs and gladly taking them as your own? Your sickness, your health, your poverty, your wealth. It's all mine too. Marriage is raw commitment. Following is counter-cultural.

But I've seen you forsake all you have to take me up with my sin struggles and untamed tongue and stunted fruit-bearing and wake up with my bed head and bad breath and it's beautiful. And I know you've carried my cross more than a time or two. Day after day it's a flesh and blood example to our kids of what Jesus did for them. It preaches to our neighbors that there is a better way - albeit not perfect - than the craziness of all the redefining the world's trying to do.

So, on your 35th birthday, I want to tell you I'll stay on this path with you and your people - our people. I'll cling to you and your happiness and heartaches like they're my own. I'll look your sin in the face and humble my proud heart, freeing you to need the gospel too, like you've done so many times for me. And I'll keep my eyes fixed on you, learning all I can from you, loving all there is to love about you. No turning back, no turning back.

 

Posted with Blogsy

My Sister, My Friend

Jenny, you and I were friends before we were family.

In fact, I loved you and your mom and dad so much I had to check my heart to make sure I wasn't just dating Matt as my ticket into your family. :) But, although I of course still love you all, eventually Matt did win me over in his own right!

A little while after I graduated from college in 1998 and went back to Ohio to work, I started attending Cambridge Bible Church (where my now father-in-law was the pastor). You were a sophomore in high school. Before too long, I was asked to be your Sunday School teacher. I was amazed at your maturity spiritually and socially. I didn't realize it was possible to have that much common sense in high school because I certainly hadn't! :) But you had loads of it. I loved your eagerness and attentiveness in class and your seriousness about your relationship with the Lord. But I also loved that you knew how to have fun too. Because of our schedules, it ended up I would pick you up from school once a week and even got to attend a volleyball game or two of yours. It was during those times that I noticed your competitive nature and good sense of humor. We'd laugh together and talk about singing, friends, driving, and a lot in between.

You left for college a few years later, the year Matt and I got married, so at the time we could've gotten even closer, God for his own purposes, took us in two separate directions. We'd look forward to spending holidays together though and you'd always made it a priority to see us in the summers around your own plans and ministry obligations. We loved your visits when we'd have a "Pride and Prejudice" marathon, explore the area, and eat yummy food!

One of the greatest joys in my friendship with you though, was when you moved to Michigan in 2010 to take a new job. You came to us with your own physical struggles, leaving a job you loved and arrived to a house barely held together in the survival mode that's reality with a newborn and with Matt having some strange physical problems of his own. But God knew we needed each other and brought us all back together at just the right time. As a mom with a very needy young family, it's hard to describe the burden I felt lift knowing we finally had family near. I often felt bad that I couldn't be more of a friend to you during that time but I don't know how we would've made it through that year without you. Between a life threatening antibiotic reaction, to chronic ear infections, to pneumonia, to stitches...all this occurring while Matt wasn't feeling up to par, let's just say I could barely put one foot in front of the other. But you were there. I remember coming home from children's hospital in the middle of the night the day of Ruby's reaction and you said you were going to spend the night so we could sleep in. You got up with Schaeffer the rest of the night (what was left of it) because he had developed yet another ear infection that was causing him discomfort. Then you got our kids breakfast in the morning while we got some much needed rest. Only a sister does stuff like that.

It's true what I said in my good-bye letter to you when we moved in April. Saying good-bye to you was doubly hard because you aren't just a dear friend, you are a sweet sister. We love you and love so much about you and it has been a joy spending these past 4 years together as God allowed our lives to overlap so closely again.

You haven't just touched my and Matt's lives, but as you know, you've touched the lives of our kids. One of the things I love most is seeing you in them. Like the way Stella prefers to keep all her food separate and not touching on her plate and the logic and thoroughness with which she approaches a challenging situation. The way Ruby competitively does...well, anything! :) And those gorgeous curls of Schaeffer's are undeniably a contribution from his Auntie. I'm so glad you have left a mark on our lives forever.

And now, it's not just Auntie Jenny we can get excited about seeing, but the man who loves Auntie Jenny too, Uncle Micah. We are thankful to add him into our family celebrations and traditions! Micah, get ready to break piñatas, taste 50 different delicious homemade baked goods at Christmas, and lose at every board game you attempt. :) What can I say? It's the way the Owens roll!

We hope you have had a wonderful first married birthday, Jenny. We are thrilled for the joy you are experiencing in this new phase of life. Our only disappointment is that we can't be there to share it all with you. So Happy Birthday, across the miles, to my sweet sister and dear friend. I love you!

Posted with Blogsy

Adoption Update

The week we moved, back in April, I contacted the Bethany office we'd be working with here in Florida to make sure they had received our file and to get information about moving forward with our adoption in our new home. At that point, it seemed the transfer would be relatively smooth. We were told we'd need to be completely moved in before they could do our updated home study for our new house.

I contacted the office in June to tell them we were moved in and to set up the home study appointment. I was told our caseworker would contact me soon to set that up but was out of the country on a missions trip at the time. We waited almost three weeks without hearing anything. I called the office again and found out they were in the middle of a baby boom with around 7 placements occurring within a few weeks time and that they just did not have the staff to serve everyone currently. The bottom line was that we would have to wait until things settled down in order for our file to move forward. We had to readjust our expectations and realize this office is not as fully staffed as the MI office was and trust again that the timing of our placement is in God's hands.

We then received a slew of paperwork we needed to complete to meet FL adoption requirements which was unexpected and a bit discouraging considering all the paperwork we had already completed through our application process. There's a reason it's called a paper pregnancy, right?! Although it took us until the end of July/beginning of August to complete all of that, we learned more about our new area, tracking down finger printing locations and Sheriff's offices, etc.

Finally, on Monday, we received the call we'd been anticipating and are thrilled to have our home study addendum set up for next Thursday at 3 PM! We are hoping to be a Florida waiting family by the end of Sept, Lord willing- almost a full year since we were originally a waiting family in MI! Nothing like making an already lengthy and challenging endeavor even longer and more challenging! :) All along though, we have been reminded that our expectation is in God alone, not our agency, nor in our ability to market ourselves successfully to birthparents. We want to be thorough and diligent in doing what we need to do, but it is comforting to know he has gone before us.

Thank you to those who have been faithfully praying and eagerly waiting with us. We will let you know when we are officially (and finally) on the waiting list here in FL!

Posted with Blogsy

Abounding Grace

We are winding down our second week of school. There's been enough grace to go around and we have every reason to believe "God is able to make [more] grace abound to [us], so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, [we] may abound in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Here are some pictures of us celebrating our last day of summer as a family and a few more pictures from the past couple weeks of school.

Storms were threatening so the beach was abandoned, but we had fun collecting shells and flying kites.

 

The boy wouldn't stand still! Typical!

 

Exploring our new city. Hre we are at the Jacksonville Landing. Thankfully Ruby and Schaeffer had safe ones! ;)

Tradition of back to school manis and pedis!

Ruby, our empathetic girl, made Schaeffer this book to encourage him that they would have fun when she got home from school.

In addition to the book, she also made him a necklace to remember her by throughout the day. It was inscribed "Ruby's Boy" to match the "Daddy's Girl" necklace she received for the school year from her Daddy.

The packed-full backpacks. I bet you'll never guess whose is whose! ;)

The sweeties on their first day, along with a salamander Ruby found on the sidewalk!

Walking in on the second day.

The line of cars waiting to pick up kids after school. You can't tell here, but it was about 6 lanes wide! Thankfully, it has gotten much shorter this second week.

One of the things we miss most this summer is using our firepit since more heat is the last thing you want in Florida summers. We tell the kids maybe we'll use the fire pit over Christmas! Until then, we made oven s'more dip for an after dinner first-day-of-school treat.

Schaeffer really is enjoying being an only child for a few hours a day. Here are my super boys on Matt's day off. Schaeffer asked him if they could match.

He loves not having to share the Wii!

Looking deceivingly angelic as we color at the table.

This is more like it. We're getting good at building bat caves!

Posted with Blogsy

Grace For Every Hurdle

It's been a few weeks since your ninth birthday. Did I really think if I didn't write my annual post to you I could bypass the reality that we most likely only have nine more years together? And I feel like your dad and I are still hunched over you in the back seat, trying to figure out how to get your blasted car seat out of our car, so we can carry you into the house for the first time!

You firstborn children have a hard way to go in some respects. Your firsts are our firsts, so sometimes we hobble along together taking first bites, steps, swims, and drives. We learn early that he catches us when we're falling, steadies us when we aren't as ready for that next step as we thought, calms us when we're the ones up crying in the middle of the night, and encourages us when we thought we should be done cleaning up messes by now, but instead the messes are bigger and worse than a pile of crumbs on the floor after dinner. And through it all, we feel the unrelenting clock and calendar keep pushing us forward to the next phase.

So, it has pushed us to the start of your fourth grade year. Around here, I feel like we're training for the Olympics as we get ready for the next grade of school. We've had our talks - and yes one of them was "the" talk. We've studied the Word. I've warned you of the hard path of the sinner, and I've reminded you that the year ahead is as bright as the promises of God. You know that fearing the Lord is living in the awareness of him - he's always with you, loving you, caring for you, and providing just what you need - and from that awareness flows true wisdom and knowledge.

But still my heart trembles when I think of letting you go again into another year without me. And this public school mama with a homeschool heart has to remind herself of victories past as we face the first day at a new school all over again.

The first morning of school last year, I got a message from a likeminded friend who walked a similar path, encouraging me that the Spirit would be faithful to give us grace for every hurdle. Oh how I needed those words! Just pulling into the parking lot on that first day was a hurdle, let alone walking those crowded halls full of strangers, and then letting you go under someone else's care for 7 1/2 hours a day. It took weeks before I wouldn't cry as I ran errands and drove by the exit for your school, knowing you guys were close but not with me.

The year definitely presented it's hurdles, but just as my friend reminded me, the Spirit gave grace for each one.

About a week into school, Daddy was walking out after dropping you off and introduced himself to the assistant headmaster, Al Carter. Your dad gave him his church business card, telling Al he was a pastor in the area and that he was praying for him. He had no idea that new-to-the-area headmaster was a Liberty grad and would visit our church the following Sunday with his Wheaton grad wife and their two kids. He had no idea that first quick exchange in the hall would result in their meeting weekly for early morning coffee and spiritual encouragement. But God did. Grace!

Thankful for our friendship with Al and Liz!

The year started off with a 'big bang' (literally) when your teacher presented a differing view of origins than you believe. You raised your hand and questioned and challenged. You had to learn to do it respectfully and to kindly interact with others who don't hold your beliefs. It was an early lesson in showing love and honor while disagreeing. Grace!

At Thanksgiving, you got to do a presentation poster featuring people, places, and things you were thankful for. You had the idea to include Jesus in the "person" category, our church as one of the "places," and the Bible in the "thing" column. You described why you were thankful for each one. "Because he's perfect, because they are loving friends, and because it teaches us." Grace!

Around Christmas, I volunteered to work in the Secret Santa shop and Al's wife happened to be working the same shift. In between helping the classes, we'd discuss the quick version of our spiritual journeys, relishing in providence right there in the public school gym. Grace!

That morning, I helped a little boy shop who wanted to pick out a gift for his dad. I pointed out a few options and asked if his dad might use either of those things. He looked up at me and said, "My dad died two weeks ago." And I remembered one of the reasons we were at the school. I have biblical obligations to you, one of which is to lead you in learning how to help your sick or sorrowing peers who might need Jesus. Grace!

I loved volunteering for field trips and reading groups and getting to know and have fun with your classmates. We have great memories of those "special voices" I'd let you guys read in and then "freeze!" Making new friends together was yet another evidence of grace!

I couldn't have been as involved as I was without the help of sweet friends from church providing childcare. I needed their support and help, and they were there for us. Grace!

And this dear woman, who I struggled leaving you with that first day of school, became a precious addition to our "most loved people" list. Mrs. Wall cried as you parted ways on your last day of school and is planning to visit us next summer. The perfect teacher for you - and me! Grace!

As I walked into your school that last day, I had a lump in my throat and fought back tears once again. But this time, they were tears of gratefulness to God. They were tears over faith that grew from seeing those halls as a fearful place to a grace filled place, where God didn't leave us or forsake us. I felt him near and dear there. I wouldn't trade this past year of school for anything, not even having you with me all day every day (although I can never get enough of our special time together). I wouldn't trade it though, because it's a better place to be desperately needing God to work and then finding him working in unexpected places and through unexpected means. Like the joy of finding streams in the desert. Only God can do things like that!

Maybe last year was an unusual year. But maybe it wasn't. So I will remember these triumphs of grace as we jump the hurdle of pulling in the parking lot tomorrow, your first day of school. I'll remember that you're there to get an education which isn't just about learning math and reading. Because I can tell you he's Lord of the nations, but wouldn't it be great if you could see that he's Lord of Orange Park first? Wouldn't it be instructive for you to grow up seeing God isn't like us and his image isn't monochromatic? As Aunt Charisse pointed out, wouldn't it be good for you to watch us appreciating and embracing home as a haven where we retreat after the hard work of being on mission is done? Wouldn't it be better for you to see my and your dad's example (clumsy as it is) of actually being in the world but not of it? And wouldn't it be faith-building for you to have the confidence of witnessing that as my and your dad's light shines in darkness, the darkness can never extinguish it?

There are so many more firsts for us to experience together, my Stella Grace. Another big one is tomorrow. There is even more for you to learn - for us to learn - in the school year ahead. Like we always have been, we're by your side, looking to him for grace as we jump through the hurdles...for at least nine more cherished years!

 

Posted with Blogsy