Learning to Serve

          This day, this week, God is trying to once again teach me what it means to serve.

In John chapter 13, Jesus tells his disciples, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean." And then he washed their feet. He was telling them that they were clean (saved) and yet something more was required. They were being told to wash one another's feet. In fact, Jesus told them they would be blessed if they did these things. This conversation wasn't really all about feet. It was about serving. There is something tempting about accepting Jesus' sacrifice and believing nothing more is required of us. Of course we can't add anything to His sacrifice to gain our salvation, but once we are saved, he expects us to do what he did: Selfless Sacrifice and Service.

I realize that I may be good at serving others who I know will appreciate my efforts, but I am terrible at serving those who don't notice or who take it for granted and feel they deserve it. Yet, Jesus washed the feet of all of his disciples, even Judas who would betray him. We are not asked to serve who we want to, how we want to, or even when we feel like it. Often our service is to people who are difficult, in ways that are unrewarding, and at times that are inconvenient.

I feel called to advocate for the orphans of this world, but that doesn't mean it will be easy. It may be my passion, but it is hard. Raising children, disciplining new believers, training co-workers all require laying down your life in order to improve someone else's. Serving the world takes sacrifice - daily. Let us go about it joyfully so that we can share our master's happiness.

BE THE ONE

always hopes, always perseveres

     What does it take to persevere when day after day things don't get better? What about when instead of getting better they get tougher? There is only one thing that will help you through times like this and that is hope. If faith is the ability to see what others can't, than hope is the ability to see the future that others won't. Many can look at a child in need and feel empathy, some will give money, some will pray, but who will look forward to what plans God has for this child and act according to what they see in the future?
     I often wonder why God wants to use me when I mess up so often. Of course it has nothing to do with me. God uses the weak so that his power and grace shine. I see now that within my hard days, there is a greater purpose. I tell my kids that if something is worth having, it is worth working for. Likewise if something is worth hoping for, it is worth persevering for. Love Never Fails.

             Be The One

..... always trusts

     Trust is the ability to believe that what someone says will happen, will, or what someone tells you is true, is. When a child trusts their parents, they will do things that don't make sense to them simply because someone they love told them to. Have you ever seen a parent at the bottom of a slide coaxing their child, "come on, you won't fall?" It is the same with us and God. If we trust God, we believe that he loves us and will only do what is best for us. This allows us to go ahead and do things that don't seem safe to us.
     When God showed us our 6th child, he was living in China: a six year old boy labeled with epilepsy. I knew immediately that this was the child God meant for our son. I also knew that as soon as we said yes all the questions would start: people wondering whether it was smart adopting a boy that old, with a diagnosis we had never experienced. We were cautioned to thoroughly look into the agency and many shared the horror stories they knew of others who had tried to adopt an older child and failed. Yet, it didn't matter what I thought might happen, I had to trust that God knew what would happen. It also was irrelevant that this child was half way around the world. I knew that God loved us and this boy and I could trust Him to bring it to completion. It didn't have to be a good idea, it was a God idea.

                                     Be The One

It always protects

  
 In what way can love protect us or those we love?  The 42nd chapter of Isaiah gives us a clue. He says that "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." Do we know people we would classify as bruised; people who have been injured by the world and are struggling in their life.  These are the ones love needs to protect. We shouldn't be the type of person who echos the world saying "your not good enough," or "you don't know anything." Instead, we need to be encouragers. We refuse to break the reed or snuff out the wick when we stand beside the one who is torn and let them know that God has great plans for them.
     This is especially true when it comes to children who are the "least of these" and our most precious possessions. God has given us these young plants to nurture. We need to protect them from the lies of this world and the counterfeit. Whether a child is our own or an orphan in another country, they need the love of a caring adult who is willing to see the potential God put inside of them and advocate for them. Love always protects even if it is hard.

                                   Be The One

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

 
  Do you notice how evil and truth are shown as opposites here? Why is it our society has such an addiction to evil and such a horror of the truth? Don't believe this is true? Just look at any popular t.v. show and what is seen as funny. It usually entails someone being embarrased, humiliated, put down or "getting what they deserve." We know these things aren't right;however, it is so prevalent in our culture we have a hard time not delighting in it. We tease those we love about their faults making it harder for them to see themselves in a positive way.
     Truth, on the other hand, is shown as something worth rejoicing over. When I hear this I can't help but think of one of my children who has a difficult time with gettting things right. I'm always hoping he or she makes the right decision in a situation; and when they do, I feel like jumping up and down. I get excited because they have chosen truth and are living the way God meant them to. We need to see the true character in our children and share it with them. Instead of saying, "stop acting like a clown," we can say, "please act like the young man God made you to be." When we do this, we help them understand who they were made to be so that they can live out that truth. 

                              Be The One 

...it keeps no record of wrongs

     For those of us who know the good news of Christianity, we understand that our joy does not come soley from the death of Christ or the resurrection story, it comes from both because through both we have both forgiveness and new life. The good news is that because of those, our sins are not only forgiven, but completely forgotten. The bible says "as far as the east is from the west," which means no way, ever will we see them again. It is amazing that God chooses to forget. Now, God knows all things, so how can he not remember? Its not that he can't, but that he won't. He does this because he wants to have a relationship with us.
      We also have this same ability (choice) to forget things that have hurt us. If we want to stay in relationship with someone, we must forget. How do we do this? Just like patience we must practice pushing the nagging thoughts and hurt to the side, or better yet throw them away. When we find our thoughts wandering into dangerous teritory, we must turn them to something else. It takes effort but is well worth it. Sing a song, recite a bible verse, or think of something pleasant that you can thank God for. We must do this for as we do to others, so shall it be done to us.

                              Be The One

it is not easily angered

  
  Love and anger seem to be polar opposites, so how is it that we get so angry with those we love?  Could it be that we have the wrong definition of love? It is said that love is a decision and not an emotion. This is so true when it comes to adoption. There is no nine months of being the protective covering and no birth; instead there is the decision to take a child totally outside of yourself and give them that covering. When we are in a situation that angers us, we need to realize that we do have a choice to be angry or not. If we let ourselves get angry, we are saying that I am inconvenienced, disappointed, embarrassed or hurt. We are focusing on us not the other person.
      I have an angry child and I have learned alot about what triggers anger. It is often for self-preservation or perceived self-preservation. But, if we are not self-seeking any longer than anger can take a back seat to LOVE. We can look those situations in the face and say "I'm not more important than this person and my needs are not more valid." We decide to Love no matter what it costs us. That's what Jesus did for us and what he expects us to do for others.

                              Be The One