Love Lessons From a Big Brother {adoption}

By on October 5, 2011 in Adoption, the heart, Uncategorized

Since the beginning of our adoption journey, I’ve been amazed at how God is growing a love for “sister from afar” in our four-year-old’s heart. Something that I thought would be such an abstract concept for a little guy to grasp, has been surprisingly easy for him to understand….easier than some of the adults in our life.

He loves her already. He’s never seen her nor does she have a name known to us, but oh, this brother loves her with the fiercest of loves. It’s evident in the daily rhythm of our home…

He prays for her.

He talks about her.

He includes her in hand-drawn family portraits.

Family Portrait

And that, my friends, is a sign to me that he “gets” it…he REALLY gets it.

This love he has bubbling up inside of him, it’s a natural love. No one had to teach him how to love her. No one told him it was something he should do. It just came like a rushing river, sweeping all of us up in the current and taking us downstream.

May we all love as swiftly and as deeply…

1 Thessalonians 4:9 ~ Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another…

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Seeing With New Eyes {adoption}

By on September 7, 2011 in Adoption

I don’t claim to have access to God’s thoughts. I mean, He IS God…and I’m just little ol’ me. BUT, I do know something close to His heart…something He treasures.

Adoption

How do I know that adoption is of importance to God?

He adopted me.

He sent His Son as my ransom, so I could be called one of His own. And then, He peeled off my orphan clothes and gave me a new name~Daughter of the King. (I’m hopeful that you, too, have experienced His never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love.)

But, I have a confession….It took me a while to realize that adoption was close to the Father’s heart. Even with my new name and new clothes from the Father, it took me a while to care about the things that are important to Him. Instead, I filled up my time with lots of other worries and pursuits. It wasn’t until I prayed that God would break my heart for the things He cared for that I started to see with new eyes the gift I had been given and the calling I had received.

Because we are ALL called.

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

YOU might not be the one God has chosen to bring home an orphan, but YOU are called to do something in the life of an orphan. It’s not just someone else’s problem. It’s not just a noble act for someone else to do while you applaud their efforts and say “Good for you.” God has called each of us who call him Father, and it requires a response…

You might be called to adopt.

You might be called to help financially support a family that is called to adopt bring a child home. (Truthfully, I think we are all called to this one)

You might be called to pray for orphans or families in the process.

You might be called to babysit for a family in the process so they can gather mountains of paperwork.

You might be called to purchase gifts from Etsy shops run by families fundraising for their adoption. (Search adoption and tons pop up!)

You might be called to…..fill-in-the-blank

Proverbs 24:12~

If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?

You see, the thing about adoption and the calling is that it’s more than just adopting. Much like each body part serves a purpose, it takes the entire community of Believers to help bring orphans home.

So I ask you, “What is your response to the calling?”

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Hidden Treasure

By on August 8, 2011 in a mother's heart, reflection, the heart, Uncategorized

Treasure Chest

Matthew 13:44–The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Over the past 10 months, I have felt like the man in the parable doing everything I can to take possession of the treasure. To borrow the title phrase from a book I’ve read recently, my treasure was found in the “Fields of the Fatherless”, and it has sent my family on a journey to adopt from Africa. Unless you are in the adoption realm already, you probably wouldn’t describe adoption as hidden treasure. But for me, that’s exactly what it it has felt like as God revealed His plans for our family and we’ve taken the steps to obtain the treasure.

10 months ago…

  • I knew that orphans existed, but slept well at night.
  • I tithed my 10% at church and gave myself extra points because I also sponsored a child through Compassion.
  • I was content with the status-quo and made plans for my life based on my selfish wants, not consulting God on what is closest to His heart.
  • I was a different person.

What’s changed in the past 10 months? God has ravished my heart so that I may know Him better. He’s broken my heart for the fatherless. He’s taken the blinders off of my eyes and has shown me what is close to His heart.

Most importantly, I’ve come to realize that one of those orphans, is actually one of my children…sleep doesn’t come as easily as it once did, knowing that there is a child waiting for me to come scoop them up in my arms and never let them go.

*I can’t seem to get the video embedded, but I hope you’ll take the time to watch it. It’s a glimpse of the things God has been speaking to me and my husband as we have been on this adoption journey– Depraved Indifference

Want to keep up with my family’s adoption journey? Read all about it on my blog, Happy Brown House.

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War Cry

By on July 8, 2011 in a mother's heart, Prayer, reflection, the heart, Uncategorized, Warrior Prayer

Grafiti

And there it was, his first curse word. Spoken with the tone and inflection of an adult, but with the voice of a boy years away from puberty’s deepening. A month shy of four years old, and he’s already found a dagger in his toolbox. My mind raced to think of how to react. I was unprepared. I thought we still had time before this blow to my ears and heart.

“Honey, where did you hear that word?”

“I dunno.”

“Did you hear it on TV?”

“I don’t remember, Mommy. Why?”

“It’s not a nice word, Jonah. It’s a yucky word some grown-ups use, but not Mommy and Daddy because we love Jesus. Are you sure you don’t remember who said that? It’s ok to tell me.”

Embarassed and eyes downward, he repeated, “I don’t remember, Mommy.”

The prodding was over. There was no real way of knowing where or from whom he learned this word, but it was already there, burning black within. The moment played over in my mind as I tried to pinpoint the origin. Years of censoring even the mildest of words, words that aren’t even considered curse words, only resulted in my son still picking up something.

And I remembered, no matter how much I try, I cannot keep him from sin.

The enemy of his soul is raging a war against him. Absolutely raging. He sees the seeds being planted and taking root through our family devotions and how we talk about Jesus throughout the day. He hears me go to the throne daily on behalf of my son. He knows my son is starting to come to an understanding of Jesus and the cross. And because of these things, He’s turning up the heat. …which only makes me do these things more.

Praying for you today as you rage war against the Enemy on behalf of your sons. Will you be joining me at the throne?

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