I knew July was going to be crazy, and indeed, it has not let me down. June was fairly quiet, which has made all the difference I think. From spending time with Asher and Kristi to hanging out on Edisto Beach with the Wright family for a week God has not been silent. His Spirit is always there whispering, bumping, and pointing out things of great worth that He does not want me to miss. Actually, the story begins in late May on our first trip to Malakoff.
We attended church with Nathan and Kristi the third Sunday in May. Their pastor and his wife had just returned from an adoption conference in Kentucky. His sermon that morning was titled, "The Silent Call." He began spewing out numbers reflecting children who were orphans around the world. He also brought it home and gave numbers for Texas and then their county. I always think I should be accustomed to hearing such things because I worked in the field, but I have to tell you that any time those figures are repeated I feel as though I've been punched in the gut. Staggering. As a church we've lost our way. Our comforts have become more important to us than our children. The major prophets all spoke to the same issues when dealing with a sinful Israel. What were those issues? 1) Idolatry 2) Adultery 3) Their neglect of orphans and widows Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The next event also happened at church on a Sunday morning in Malakoff. The pastor's message was again challenging. The sermon was entitled "Investing in Authentic Returns," and the following points were made: 1) Faith Requires Action 2) Action Requires Awareness 3) Awareness Requires Responsibility and 4) Responsibility Requires Intentionality. I'll let you do your own wrestling with those.
The most exciting thing for me that morning was watching him baptize his own young son (our pastor recently did that as well) and then baptize two older men. One appeared to have numerous health issues and required many extra hands to get him into the baptistry, yet he was determined to be there. The other was more middle-aged, and clearly broken by the love of a faithful Savior. The latter had come to Christ as he developed a relationship with the pastor at a block party sponsored by the church. It was an amazing reminder of how Christ pursues us, young with little experience, and old with many regrets. All three answered the call to "come and see."
And then we were off to Edisto Island to spend a week on the beach with family. We have spent many, many days on a beach, but never consecutive days. We were absolutely amazed at how the beach changed from day to day, morning to evening. So for all you folks who make fun of me for changing my furniture around every other week or so I'll have you know that God does the same, only His is at the beach. And for the record, I love brown pelicans. They are amazing. They are huge, and brown, and ugly, but they can soar in the air so gracefully. It was fun to watch them as they flew together in formation, 15 to 20 in each flock. Incredible.
It's also good to see family, make new memories, and remember other times -- some good, some not so good. I love to hear and see how God is working in their lives. Sometimes there's ultimate blessings to share, and at times hard, brutal lessons to learn -- and two truths always make themselves known. 1) Our sin not only affects us, but ripples down and affects everyone around us; and 2) God is close, loves us dearly, and never leaves us hanging. There are new jobs, new friendships, new struggles, new insights, and a HUGE God who takes every step with us. Amazing.
While at the beach we received news. News that made us laugh out loud and shake our heads. We also had news that broke our hearts, kept us awake until the early hours of morning, and brought flowing tears of grief. And to be honest, the question is always the same, why? And again, God reminds us that He is sovereign, His ways are not our ways, and He has a plan. I don't particularly care for any of those answers. But I know those are the right answers because we've walked this path before. A family member said last week that they always thought if you trusted God and did the right thing hard things wouldn't happen to you. If only. Scripture tells a different story. We are being conformed into the image of Christ, and Christ suffered. Bummer.
We made it home Friday evening. The puppies were happy to see us. Jeanna was happy to see us. Saturday we went to a production of Ragtime. It was awesome. So many of the truths God has pointed out to me over the last few weeks were restated in this production. And, as usual, it's the off the wall stuff that sticks in my head. Younger Brother is standing in front of Coalhouse offering him aid. In his head (Younger Brother's) he is making all of these encouraging, factual statements (which are being sung by the Company), yet all that comes out of his mouth is, "I can blow things up!"
Alas, our hearts think so deeply and we have so much we want to say, yet all we can manage is, "I can blow things up!" Such was my dilemma last week as we attempted (on my part anyway) to pray before our last meal together. So the prayers for our family may remain unspoken, but they do not remain un-prayed. Our heavenly Father who knows me better than I know myself can attest to the desires of my heart when it comes to family. And even without my spoken prayers, He holds each one in the palm of His hand.
