Sometime ago I listened to a sermon that Britt Merrick preached and in it he said it's not safe to follow Jesus. He spoke about when a family friend was going on a mission trip and her started to write "be safe". He said he stopped himself when he realized Jesus never called us to be safe in fact he called us to do quite the opposite.
As we have been walking this path of adoption Dustin and I have quickly realized that when we live a life that isn't safe it is full of lots of hurt but also lots of blessings. As you have read in the past we started off the Journey looking for a "safe" adoption plan. A child that was on the road to adoption with a low risk of going back. As the LORD worked on our hearts we found ourselves saying it doesn't matter how long they will stay we will love them anyway. We will love them with all we have and hold nothing back.
The LORD had used Britt and Kate Merrick to show us our children were a gift. And that everyday we have with them is a gift. A couple of weeks ago Britt and Kate's daughter Daisy (age 8) went to be with the LORD. She has changed many lives across the world. The LORD used her suffering through 4 cancer diagnosis for his glory. We loved harder and more willingly as we watched this story unfold. When I watched the memorial last Saturday it was full of laughter and tears. They web cast it and I along with almost 4,000 others watched from home as they filled up the auditorium they had used in Santa Barbara.
Adoption is risky. Following Jesus is risky. But oh it's so worth it. Because when you get that child in your arms you will know that God choose you to be their parent. It maybe for a week or a month or maybe 65 years. But he choose you to love them. So don't be afraid if they may leave tomorrow or next week, just love them anyway.
When you encounter the birth parents love them with all you have. They need your love too. When you are dealing with social workers and Judges love them with all you have. In the end love wins. We need to not be afraid we just need to love everyone like Jesus. You will never say I loved them too much.
To read more of Daisy's story you can visit Pray For Daisy
There is a blog and multiple videos including her memorial service.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. do not be afraid or terrified of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.
I discovered a new non-profit today that works with foster children and foster parents. Their goal is not to just recruit more loving homes for these children who need a family but to support the families who want to love them. As well as impacting the lives of the foster children in the system. They have some creative ideas that I would love to see happen in Santa Cruz.
My favorite thing they do is called Tuesday night suppers. They go into the group homes cook with the kids in the group home, eat with them, and then play board games with them.
There are so many ways we can help these children!
How will you step outside your comfort zone and love these kiddos?
Lot's of tears have been shed over the last 5 days but today a big wave hit my while doing the dishes. The music was playing and the kids were having fun and giggling next to me on the floor. From Friday's massacre of 20 innocent children and 7 adults, to Daisy Love Merrick I just couldn't keep them back. I silently cried as the tears rolled down into the soapy water. I pleaded with the LORD asking him to heal Daisy Love and was gently reminded as I cried that he loved me and Daisy more then anyone ever could.
If you don't know Daisy's story she is an 8 year old girl who has just been diagnosed with two cancerous tumors for the 4th time in her short life. She isn't just any 8 year old girl to us though. Her dad was/is one of my husbands mentors. He discipled my husband and taught him what it meant to be a man after God's own heart. If you have met Britt you know he is a man after God's own heart and if you met my husband you can tell he is a good teacher. Because of this Daisy holds an extra special place in our hearts along with her whole family. Christmas 2011 we stood at church chatting with her mom (Kate) while Elijah Merrick played with the children. She told us how happy she was that Daisy's cancer was gone (that was after the second diagnosis) yet she knew that all these treatments had taken a toll on her sweet body. That image is burned in my mind as I held our 5 week old little boy that was born in our hearts. At that same moment we told her how Daisy's story and their faith had given us the courage to take the steps that led us to him. My heart breaks on so many different levels. For Daisy as her body aches and she starts chemo again knowing that her tumors are inoperable. For Kate and Britt as I know as a mother and father how much they just want to take the pain away. For her older brother who probably wishes he could take away the pain too.
In all of this I know that God is good and he is bigger then any tumor even when I don't have the faith to believe it. This year at Christmas we will hold our little ones a little tighter and tell them we love them a little bit more. We will remember that our children are not ours but that they belong to our Father in heaven who loves them so much more then we ever could. And he will not forsake us.
Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
John 11:35 Jesus wept.
To read more of Daisy's story and witness her families incredible faith go here www.prayfordaisy.com
I got in the car yesterday and an old Jars of Clay song was on. The second verse stood out to me as a sad state that happens in our lives.
Sitting silent wearing Sunday best
The sermon echos through the walls
A Great salvation through it calls to the people
who stare into nowhere, and can't feel the chains on their souls
It's the time when you forget what it feels like to be wrapped in our Saviors love. When you forget the feeling of what it was like when you first realized how much the LORD loves you. When the songs become just what you do instead of an overflow out of your heart. Or just that picture of being silent wearing Sunday best and the legalism that can come with that. And then there is the part that hits so hard " and can't feel the chains on their souls." I think it hits so hard because I have been in this spot and am no longer there. The chains of the yoke we weren't meant to bear. Thankfully you don't have to do anything to get rid of the chains. The LORD does it for you. We all have chains we can't feel so it is good to ask everyday for the LORD to remove the things we aren't meant to bear so we can fall more in love with him.
So Today is November 30th the last day of national adoption month. I have blogged almost everyday and today will be my final blog in the series on Adoption. Today I want to deal with the call to foster care and adoption (international, domestic, and any other way it can happen). This is a ministry I feel many are called to, yet few answer the call.
Often times we think or say "It is a broken system full of corruption, how can I make a difference?" Well you can be the one that isn't corrupt. If it is international adoption you can make sure that your child isn't a trafficked child. You can do this by making sure your agency is upstanding and does due diligence some people even hire their own personal private investigator. If you are going to adopt domestically through the foster care system you can be that safe family. You can be the one that stands up for what is right. The LORD never promised that when he called us into ministry it would be safe. In fact it is just the opposite. We are living a life devoted to the LORD. It isn't comfortable or safe when you love with your whole heart, but it is full of purpose and blessings. In Roman times unwanted children were left to die in fields and on the side of roads, Christians adopted these children and at the risk of death. I think that the risks we are taking are far smaller then some of our ancestors.
In response to fear we should turn to God's word for answers.
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for i am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand.
Isaiah 41:13 For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you Do Not Fear; I will help you.
Isaiah 43:1-2 But now, this is what the LORD says he who created you, O Jacob, he formed you, O Israel: "Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters , I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Do you believe these promises? If you do then the call should not bring up fear, but anticipation for what the LORD will do through you.
International or domestic you are dealing with a broken system because this is a broken world. Don't run the other way because the system is broken. The children in the system need you. They need love, they need hope, they need healing. Brokenness should draw you in because the answer to brokenness lives in you and through you.
I could put all the verses that talk about defending the fatherless and taking care of the orphan but you already know that list is endless. So I will just put one verse up that I think sums it all up.
James 1:27a Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...
I was at an adoption prayer group the other day and two ladies shared what their husbands said about adopting "Our lives are too easy, our lives are not meant to be easy." I thought this was such a neat way to look at life. Why are we always looking to make our lives easier? The LORD did not call us to an easy life. He did not call us to a life free from hurts. What He did promise was to redeem and bring beauty from ashes. He also promised to be with us as we walked through trials.
The orphan issue can be overwhelming when we look at the numbers, so don't look at the numbers anymore just resolve to make a difference in just one orphans life. I challenge you to just take in one orphan if you are feeling called. Maybe it will be through foster care, or maybe you will travel to Ethiopia or Russia. It may be a baby or a teenager. Maybe you know a teenager who may not be up for "adoption" in the legal sense but you know they are lacking a family. There are so many ways this can look.
I hope this song will encourage you to not let fear overcome. You can adopt not because you have the ability or the time but because the LORD will equip you. "The God of angel armies is always by your side."
John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
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