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Tuesday, March 2, 2010
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
I just returned from the Nashville airport where we welcomed the Mihnovich sibling group from Ethiopia. There are FOUR of them and these children are BREATHTAKING. I remember when Tracey told me that they were going to start the paperwork on them....my thoughts were "a sibling group of four? now THAT IS RADICAL!" I even thought that same thought on the way to the airport tonight.... FOUR at one time? RADICAL.
I am going to be very vulnerable and share my heart. I am struggling. I have a significant battle going on between my heart and my mind. There are "truths" that I KNOW from scripture and there are "truths" that I feel just from my relationship with my sweet Savior and then there are "beliefs" that I am surrounded by on a daily basis because of our culture.
As I looked at each one of the Mihnovich children I thought about how their parents passed and they were left as orphans with NO ONE to care for them. I got ANGRY. Not just a little angry...a LOT ANGRY. which leads me to my question..." WHAT ARE WE DOING? There are MILLLIONS of sibling groups living alone, with no running water, no bathrooms, no blankets, and no pillow. I often think.... If people were driving down the street in Brentwood (where I live) and saw children digging through the trash for food...what would they do? turn their head? If you were walking out of Kroger and saw a child shoeless, sitting on the ground asking for money to eat..what would you do? turn away? I know that not everyone is "called" to take a child into their home.....but why not? If "believers" are not "called" to care for these children THEN who is? My head is telling me "not every believer can take an extra child in" and my heart is asking my head"why not?" I cannot understand how people that have a personal relationship with Christ can KNOW that this is going on all around them and not do anything to help. So, my head takes this a step further....if Jesus Christ (in the flesh) was digging through the trash, how many people would stop and feed him? If Jesus Christ did not have a home, who would take him in? Wouldn't all believers be HONORED to have Jesus live in their home? Even if it was a bit of an inconvenience? I mean, it would be an extra mouth to feed. It also would totally change the dynamics of your household (sleeping, clothing, grocery bill, laundry). You might not even have "time for yourself" because you would have an extra person to think about. NOW, the truth that I know from scripture is Matthew 25:45 which says that Christ will reply "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." Sometimes I try to take things out of context in the bible but this one is pretty clear...don't you think?
Now, hear me say, I KNOW that there are families out there that are dealing with significant issues that leave them unable to bring other children in . BUT, also hear me say that the bible says that if you are a born again believer in Jesus Christ then you are RESPONSIBLE for these children.
One of the first things that we strive for as believers if to be Christlike. If Christ KNEW that there were children with no one to hold them, what would HE do? turn away? If Christ KNEW that there were children that needed a home, what would HE do? If Christ KNEW that there were children that were hungry, what would HE do? As believers, if we are doing all that is possible to be Christ-like..then why are there hundreds of MILLIONS of children with no one to love them? I simply do not understand.
I have a friend that when she traveled to get her child, he would purr like a kitten every time she would hug him. when I heard that, my heart broke in half. He was longing for love so badly that when he finally felt those warm arms around him, he would purr with contentment. A CHILD longing for love so BADLY that he couldn't contain himself when he FINALLY knew what it felt like to be loved. while this is sweet, how heartbreaking is it? I do not think that children are suppose to long for love this badly. I think that as the body of Christ we should NOT be able to go through a normal day KNOWING that there are children out there with such longing in their hearts. It ought to bother us so badly that we can't sleep at night. How did we get to this point? How did we get so numb to these facts? So, what is going to be our response when we stand before Christ? What will we say? "I bought some Ugandan beads?" (while that feeds meals to children in Uganda...probably not going to cut it when we stand before the Savior)
Now, I must admit that it wasn't until I haven't had time to myself or my days are filled with preschoolers that I even stopped to think about what I did with the time that I had. I want to challenge you. For 1 week, let's write down each day what we do to serve someone else. Every time you do something that is serving someone else write it down. At the end of the week,
compare the hours that are spent serving others to the rest of your day. Be honest. If your job consists of serving then you must have a heart check and see what parts of it have eternal value.
We might get just a small glimpse of how Christ sees us. scary huh?!
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About Me
- suzanne
- I am a lover of Jesus. I have the most fabulous husband that anyone woman could ask for. The Lord has blessed us with 7 beautiful children. I started this blog so that friends and family could follow our trip to Uganda to visit Katie Davis. I have decided to keep blogging to help bring orphan awareness to the world around me.
34 comments:
Could you call up my husband and ask him these questions? Please? Ugh.
I am so broken about this, Suzanne. I am just taking each day as it comes, looking for direction and clarification from the Lord. I know there will always be another child to save, but how in the world do I know what I know and not go back?
seriously JUST PREACH IT ... I am standing right beside ya trying to do my part and knowing it is not enough, but looking for the face of Jesus everywhere I turn !!!
love ya sister !!
Your post made me cry, not only out of brokeness for all the children in need of homes, families, love but because of the apathy that you so clearly described. Just the other night I had someone tell me that adoption and orphans were "my thing" and their "thing" was something different. That HURT so badly... because like you said if believers aren't going to step up and take care of these kids then WHO IS??????????? Thank you so much for standing up for these children.
AMEN!!!!!
I’m struggling to write right now…I don’t know what to say…this is not just a reality check, it is a heart check. It is one of those moments when TRUTH is spoken so clearly but following that truth is not so clear. Thank you for speaking the TRUTH in love. We all need to hear it at one time or another.
"I cannot understand how people that have a personal relationship with Christ can KNOW that this is going on all around them and not do anything to help." - Powerful words! And truth! Thank you for your boldness for the Gospel and the voices of those without one!
THANK YOU for this post. Our hearts are broken at the needs of children in our world. PRAYING daily for a wave of adoptions in our community and for eyes to be opened. Praying God uses our family as He will.
love,
rebekah wright
This is what I want to shout from every pulpit in America! Each time we've adopted, someone has said something to the effect of "when will you be done adopting all these kids?" And I want to say "when the rest of you start helping us out and adopting some yourself!" Between your family, the Oatsvalls, the Mihnovich's and mine we have 29 kids! Why is it that those of us that should have the least free time are the ones stepping up to the plate over and over? I am so glad that finally we are hearing a voice for the orphans being shout out! This isn't a new problem people! I also think Satan is going to make it more difficult to adopt these children as more believers step up. It's evident by looking at the numbers of international adoptions over the last decade. The numbers are declining even as more Christians adopt. I believe we are in a race against time and Satan to get these kids into families before the doors slam shut! Pray hard and open your hearts and your homes!
Yea and AMEN! Great Post!!!
Love this post. Feeling these thoughts on a daily basis and I too get angry. Praying for more action and support of those who do act within the Church.
Praise God! People really don't realize what we should be doing. I'm struggling right now because God has put a 13 yr old girl and her two younger siblings on my heart. Yea, we already have 5 kids but my family has more than enough finance and room...so why not?? Well I'm praying that God will work miraculously in my parents so we can bring my siblings home!
Amen!!! I'm one of those people who can't sleep at night because my heart is broken for the orphan. We recently adopted a 9 year old son from Guatemala (came home Christmas Eve). He cried tears joy because he had Christmas gifts with his name on them. I watched him take his first bath in hot water and read him his first bedtime story. I have a child, who once looked for food in garbage, laugh at the dinner table with his family and eat until he is full. I have a child who experienced horrible abuse, show such great love. And I get to hear him thank God in his prayers each night for giving him a mom and dad and siblings.
Oh, the blessing we would have missed out on if he was not in our lives. And to think others thought he was too old or too broken to be adopted.
Thanks for being the voice of the orphan. (Also loved your sweet Grace's post the other day.) I know you have inspired many to take that first step in obeying God's command to care for orphans. Thanks for encouraging us to examine how we are serving others.
God Bless,
Kathie
I completely understand but how do you look at someone and say: "you need to help orphans". How do you get that message across. I love 147 million because it helps with that. My heart is orphans. My sister does not feel called to adopt. How do I convince her of it. She knows my passion and fully supports it. She is excited about her future nieces and nephews but does not want to adopt any of her own. So how am I suppose to talk to her about this with out "pshing it on her". It won't help these children any to be in another home that they are only there b/c they are "what we are suppose to do". Again, my heart is totally with you...my head is trying to figure out how to make it work.
AMEN!
Amen Sista.
Hebrews 13:16
16Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of "sacrifice"—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.
Thank you sweet sister! YOU have served me with this beautiful post--- amen and amen!!! --and precious Isaiah is so secure that I haven't heard that purr in 2 days----even though he is snuggled non-stop--- I'm surviving on peanut butter cookies and over the top JOY!!! love you so much!
What are we doing? We're ignoring it. We are ignoring the 4.6 billion people world wide who don't know Jesus. We're ignoring the 26,000 children who will die TODAY from a lack of food, water, or basic medical care. We're ignoring each and every part of the Bible because we like our comfortable lives, our comfortable churches, and we love our stuff. I am the rich man wearing the purple linen meanwhile Lazarus is sitting outside my gate and I send my scraps. my chest gets heavy when I think about this. I know I am am being called to something more and different but my head can't get around it. Mostly because "I" am trying to make it work rather than just surrendering. I know it's supposed to be a battle of sorts. This one is kicking my butt. Keep praying everyone. God is working.
Preach it sister!!!! If more people say it maybe more people will listen!!!
with hugs and a thank you
i feelso amazed that God has called me, our family to be a small part in full filling His plans for these precious babes who need mommys and daddys
xxxxxxxxx
s
Thank you so much for sharing this! I KNOW the Lord gave you the heart and words for this post. Your words stirred my heart. I have been wondering the exact same things.
You have such a beautiful family!
Suzanne, I am just a stalker;) Someone who regularly reads your blog for inspiration and encouragement. We brought our daughter home from Ethiopia last July. It has been a long winter of keeping up with our 3 biological boys and bonding, bonding, bonding with our daughter all the while my husbnad is working extra in part to help cover the adoption expenses. I love your blog, gwen's and katie's. You keep me keeping on...looking to the face of my savior and letting his arms pick me up when I feel I can't keep going. I have not found other adoptive mom's in my area who are passionate for adoption because it is the call of our savior. It gets lonely because most people (even Christian friends) think we need to get over pushing/preaching the adoption orphan care thing. Pray the Lord would send a fellow sojourner. In the mean time, know the Lord is using your blog to encourage some of us lonely moms that are on the path with you. Keep writing truth and telling it with honesty. Your Sister in Christ, Kay Heikes
Tell it sister you are exactly right and I don't know how it got to this point. How can we lay down and sleep at night and not think of ways of helping? The Christians of the world need to hear this. "some" are not called "all" are called.
Thank you for your honesty! Your family is just one of the many examples that has lead us to bring home 2 from Ethiopia and I know in my heart that God has said we will go back for more:)Its been a crazy journey so far, but God is in it and we pray that He is glorified throuh it!
so true, I agree with everything you are saying and my heart aches as well. thank you for such a vulnerable and honest post.
wow, so good...like I said on the car ride home.." it doesn't even look crazy anymore...it just looks and feels so normal" to bring 4 more in...I'm so doin it...God will work a miracle on my hubby and we'll be back in the adoption ring SOON :) kj
Amazing post. Thank you. Needed it. Great reminder.
TRUTH TRUTH TRUTH!!
You and Gwen should come to Australia and spread the word! There's little need for in-country adoptions (too easy to abort an unwanted child) and the government makes it ridiculously hard for international adoptions. We can ONLY adopt with countries that are part of the Hague Convention, it takes YEARS for them to decide whether you are 'good enough' to become a parent, oh and the only African country we were able to adopt from was Ethiopia but that connection was suspended indefinitely in December. We have by far the lowest rate of adoptions in the developed world yet considering we also have the lowest rate of unemployment, lack of funds isn't a valid excuse.
I'm usually proud to call myself an Australian, but not at the moment. It's very much a case of out of sight, out of mind. Bah!
Keep on fighting Suzanne, you do a great job!!
Such a great word!!! Thank you for being so open and honest....we all need to hear this. It is an encouragement!!! So glad you are radical, girl!
Much Love,
Missy
http://www.freedom4micah.blogspot.com
Agree 100% !!!!!!!!!!!!!
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