Over the last few months, one of the hottest topics to discuss was the fact that we all live in a new reality. When the markets crash, houses stop selling, and jobs are being lost…we live in a new reality that is very different than that of years past.
Let me give you another example: My wife and I are watching my twin brother’s children while they are in Costa Rica on a mission trip. Their four kidos + our four kidos =not enough seats! Not at the dinner table, so we’ve called in the reserves… cold, metal, folding chairs. Not enough seats in our nice new Toyota Sienna. This last summer, Aime and I finally replaced our 1998 Dodge Caravan, which had cost us several thousand dollars to keep fixing last year. With a newer van that has seats that fold down into the floor and a ridiculous amount of deep cup holders, unlike our Caravan, which caused me to spill my coffee nearly every day. Again we called in the reserves! We now have our van and my brother’s van, a newer Dodge Caravan with the same cup holder issues. I am amazed at how fast I’ve gotten use to my new van. I discovered this when I accelerated out of the school parking lot yesterday in my brothers Caravan only to dump my entire cup (a VERY hot cup, mind you) of coffee onto the drivers seat and down the back of my leg. Side note: I know that I’m growing as a follower of Christ, not necessarily by what I do and say, but by what I don’t say and do…I kept my cool! A new van, deep cup holders, a new reality!
As a family, we’re living in a new reality. We have prayed for months for God to protect and care for a little girl in Ethiopia whom we have never met. We have worked countless hours on paperwork and traveled to doctors, notaries, and the Secretary of State’s office. The home study is complete, the dossier has been submitted, and now we wait! The new reality we’re living in is one with our heart being torn in two. One half is here with the day to day demands of life, family, and ministry and the other half is 7,558 miles away. Matthew 6:21, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” is the best reference for this new reality. We find ourselves one minute consumed with the busyness of life here in Indiana, and the next minute so distracted by the thoughts and images of the 143,000,000 orphans looking for their “forever families”. Hang in there kidos…
Matthew 6:21 “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”
Isaiah 1:17 “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the Oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans!”
God’s heart is for the often forgotten “Orphan”. Where’s yours?
Chreck us out over @
http://www.longingforafrica.com/
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