I feel like that first paragraph doesn't make a lot of sense, so let me back up. Lately, I've been reading some pretty amazing books (which is probably why I haven't updated this blog lately!) that have really challenged me to step outside of my zone of comfort. I first read Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
by Francis Chan. If you haven't read this book, you seriously need to get on that. This book really made me wake up and realize that my life isn't supposed to be about comfort and what makes me happy. I think sometimes it's so easy for Christians (including me!) to think that God desires for all of our needs and wants to be met and that He wants us to live perfect, happy little lives. We think that God is going to give us "the American dream": a nice house, a car, a spouse, a couple of kids, a good job, and that everything is going to be all neat and tidy because God wants the best for us. This book, however, challenged me to think that maybe God's best for me isn't necessarily what I think is best. Because in my mind, "the best" would be all the nice little comfortable things mentioned above. But read this: James 1:27 says, "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." Another passage that really changed my mind was John 21. Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" three separate times, and every time Peter says yes. Jesus' response? Feed and take care of my sheep. So if I really want to live out God's best, I need to be taking care of other people, not myself. That is so contradictory to my nature...I want to take care of myself and my family first. But God tells me to put others' needs above my own. There is so much more about this book that really made me think, but I think this is the core of it. I want to take care of the poor and needy, and I feel like God is asking me to do that right now.Another book I read recently is Mary Beth Chapman's Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope
. If you're familiar with the Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman, this is his wife's story of losing their 5-year-old daughter they adopted from China. Definitely a heart-wrenching story and it really made me want to cherish my precious children more. Actually, one night I stayed up really late reading (it was like 2 am) and I got out of bed and snuck into Ellie's room and just laid my hand on her little head and prayed over her while she slept. This book didn't have the same sort of mind-blowing and radical ideas as Crazy Love, but it still challenged my ideas about adoption and child sponsorship. This family adopted three daughters from China and began a non-profit organization that helps orphans overseas as well as provides some monetary support to families who are trying to adopt. I'm currently reading Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption
by Katie Davis. This is the story of a girl who moves from her luxury and comfort in the U.S. to Uganda after graduating high school. She intends to just work as a Kindergarten teacher in an orphanage for a year, but ends up adopting 14 orphaned girls and creates a non-profit organization to help Ugandan children have the resources needed to go to school. Her book is full of what she's learning from the Lord and how her life is completely different from what she imagined it would be. I've only read about a third of the book, but it is really affecting me spiritually. I just read this from her book today:
"The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children. And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth proclaim to be Christians.
The truth is that if only 8% of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left.
This is the Truth. I have the freedom to believe it. The freedom, the opportunity to do something about it. The truth is that He loves these children just as much as He loves me and now that I know, I am responsible."
That seriously hit me hard. What am I doing with my life if I'm not helping the poor and needy of this world? Sure, I make excuses....I'm a busy mom, I have two little ones of my own to care for, we don't have a lot of money, we're trying to pay off our school loans, etc. But I don't think God would ask me to do something if it wasn't possible. So what am I supposed to do, now that I know?
I've been praying over this a lot recently. I don't think I'm any closer to finding an answer, but I do feel like I'm becoming more spiritually aware of the condition of this world, and with that I am more and more dissatisfied with what I'm doing. I keep asking God to give me an opportunity to do something. My mind goes from one extreme to another. Is God asking us to move across the country to an unchurched city? Is He asking us to move overseas and become missionaries? Is He wanting us to stay in Harrisonburg and find the needs in our own city? Is God telling me to start sponsoring a child in a third world country? I really don't know yet. What I do know is that I don't want to live this comfortable, easy life for my own pleasure and then get to heaven and God ask, "So what did you do in My name?" I'm not saying there's anything wrong with material comfort, but when that becomes my goal in life I know I'm not pleasing God.
So all of that to say, I have a zillion questions and very few answers. But will you pray with me about what we, as Christians, can do?
I've been praying over this a lot recently. I don't think I'm any closer to finding an answer, but I do feel like I'm becoming more spiritually aware of the condition of this world, and with that I am more and more dissatisfied with what I'm doing. I keep asking God to give me an opportunity to do something. My mind goes from one extreme to another. Is God asking us to move across the country to an unchurched city? Is He asking us to move overseas and become missionaries? Is He wanting us to stay in Harrisonburg and find the needs in our own city? Is God telling me to start sponsoring a child in a third world country? I really don't know yet. What I do know is that I don't want to live this comfortable, easy life for my own pleasure and then get to heaven and God ask, "So what did you do in My name?" I'm not saying there's anything wrong with material comfort, but when that becomes my goal in life I know I'm not pleasing God.
So all of that to say, I have a zillion questions and very few answers. But will you pray with me about what we, as Christians, can do?
I always enjoy your blog posts :) The thing that came to my mind as I read this was what Andy Stanley has said on this type of subject is "Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone". This is what I think about when I feel overwhelmed about statistics and other things going on in the world. Many are able to do for more than "one" but it helps us while we balance our life to "do for one what we wish we could do for everyone".
ReplyDeleteWow! I love reading your posts. And just so you know God has used you to speak to me. I have been struggling with what to do with the clothes Ethan has outgrown. I want to take them to Once Upon A Child so I can turn around and buy them what they need now. However, God has been tugging at my heart to give these things away. I know a ton of people who are pregnant right now and could truly benefit from these clothes, but I still struggle. So God has been putting verses, qoutes, and now people like you in my path to tell me to give to those in need. So I am, and I will trust God to provide what we need.
ReplyDeleteIn response to what you can do now, start small. Give of your time and resources. Just being there for another mom who is struggling or volunteering at your local food bank are all good things too. Start small and wait on God to tell you to go big.
Some people say, "All you can do is pray," but honestly prayer is the most powerful thing in the world. You have two babies and one income and maybe you can't physically throw yourself into all of the things that pull at your heart, but you can pray for those who are more free and capable of doing them. Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone. You can't save the world and God doesn't expect you to. But you can raise Ellie and Piper to care about those less fortunate than themselves that way when they're older, you can physically serve the causes you care about. I think we also have to think of the people who write these books-- an 18 year old with no commitments who can just jet off willie nillie across the Pond, a (probably) millionaire woman who has connections all over the world, a pastor who God has called to spend his life in ministry. God doesn't call everyone to the same things (as you know) and He needs "behind the scenes" people, too. With yours and Billy's career fields, it's absolutely likely that you could end up supporting missions efforts in a poor country one day. But for now, pray for those already there and do what you can in the moment. =)
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