Life is a story. It is the only important story. It is the ultimate autobiography. It is God’s story written by God, Himself. We humans, on the other hand, tend to think
that life is about us. We tend to ask
God to bless us, to comfort us, to give to us, to heal us, to give us an easy
and comfortable and happy life. When did
God start owing us? When did we become
the main characters? When did life
become about us instead of God? There
are so many books, feel-good quotes, facebook statuses, etc. that focus on what
God should do for us, instead of what we should do for God. When did the story change?
However, I do believe that
at times, in the midst of God’s story, He chooses to bless us with something
that we want. He chooses to give us the
desires of our hearts…not because we deserve it, not because He owes it to us, not
because we are the center of the story, but because He loves us and wants to bless
us. And He wants to use that blessing to
improve His story. Giving us the desires
of our hearts is not His ultimate goal.
It is just something that He likes to do sometimes while working toward
His goal of bringing glory to Himself.
Well, God has blessed me richly,
in order to make His story better. As long as I can remember, I
have loved children. We have five biological
children and five adopted children. We
have also had 21 additional foster children come and go over the years. Now, with the opening of our group home in
Guatemala, we have taken in 10 more children.
(I recognize that would not be blessing for many people, but for me, it
is.)
If you know me very well, you
probably know that one of my greatest joys is to have a baby in my arms. Also, if you have been around me very long, you have probably heard me say, “Why does everybody get twins, except me?! Babies and twins, two of my longings.
Well, in God’s story, He
needed to find a temporary home for a beautiful baby girl named Esperanza. So He chose to bless us by giving her
to us. True, Esperanza was only with us
for a short time, until He took Her home to be with Him. (I think God just wanted her all for
Himself. J) But I feel so blessed that He
chose to give her to us for her short life on this earth. We have another "baby" girl as well. Her name is Angelita. She is actually 7 1/2 years old, but the size of an 18 month old and the mental age of a baby. She is so sweet to rock and cuddle. Ahh! Babies in my arms again!
Then, earlier this month, God
needed to find a home for a beautiful set of 2 year old twin girls, Racquel and Esther. And, again, He decided to bless us with the
privilege of being their family. It is so nice, to once again, have toddlers running around our house--giggling, dumpling toys, smearing food all over the high chair tray, hugging and kissing. (Don't misunderstand me; there are difficult moments as well, but so worth it!) I do
not, in any way, believe that the twins were placed with us because God thinks
I am awesome or that I somehow deserve this.
I do, however, believe that in His story, these little girls needed a
family, and He knew that He would get the glory if He gave them to us.
So for now, I want to give God the praise and glory and thanks for giving me these babies and these adorable, little twins...in addition to the other wonderful 16 children with whom God has blessed me. Thanks, God, for letting me be part of YOUR story! It sure is a great adventure!
