I must say I did not have a godly attitude this morning. I wanted to be at the Davies early. My son wanted to be somewhere this morning and Ricky drove him. The girls were slow to get ready. I wanted them to help pack towels, food and drink. They wanted to look pretty and they did. I let them know that I did not get the morning with the orphans because I was waiting on everyone. I called Ricky and he hurried back and we loaded up and as we left...."wait upon the Lord". Rebuked! I wanted to leave Ricky and go without him. I did not act on my desires. He was willing to spend his Saturday with us and the orphans so I wanted him there too. Dying to self happens a lot, all throughout the day. It is not a one time deal. You don't surrender to God and your perfect. I'd like that. But we all have things that we should die to every day. None of us are perfect. So as we are driving I'm fussing at myself. At my age, I know God's timing and will is perfect. I know that God has a reason. I know I'm glad my husband is with us. Dying to self, to live for Christ has great rewards!
We had an awesome day watching the orphans swim, bike, play games and laugh.
Never hire me for a life guard. I dunked more kids than I saved. The one I rescued (ha..fake rescued), I waited till he came closer and would not drowned me. My Christlike attitude of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" might have changed into joy as I dunked the three boys that pushed me into the pool. They did not pay for what they had done. They reaped the benefits of having and adult in the pool to play with them and hug them and dunk them. They loved it and came back for more over and over again. Tough job? Try it.
Part of the joy of the day is sitting and telling others about our families journey in adoption, hosting and camp. As Toby Mac sings "don't even get me started". In other words it is hard to get me to stop talking about the ministry to orphans. No apologies. Someone has to be their voice and help them. I'm willing and able to help give them a voice.
My day is ending with a large lab tearing up my magazine. I watered plants at 11:00p.m. hoping to save some of my plants. They have been neglected lately. I enjoy my flowers. I enjoy the time with the 12 more.
I told someone today that it makes me a better mom to my 7 to host orphans. Their time here is short. I want it to be fun, meaningful and memorable. Our time on earth is short. I don't say this lightly and please don't be offended. But we went to the funeral home last night. One of my children felt bad she was not crying. I explained to her that we both knew that our friend was in a better place. The children we work with are not going to a better place when the die. They are not going to a better place when the return. Our job is to give hope. Hope in Christ. Hope in a better future. The knowledge that God loves them and they can pray to God anywhere anytime. What an awesome job to have. To give hope.
Thanks to all that have helped to make it an awesome trip for them. Every year it is a reminder of what is important in our lives and what is not. So many have blessed us this year. Forgive me if I seem hurried and take you for granted. This ministry exists because people give their time, money and efforts to help orphans. What you do is done "to the least of these". Thank you notes will just have to wait until they leave.
It has been beautiful to watch my children in action this year. Heather spent many nights getting the two girls in her room to sleep. Andrew has been an awesome brother figure to the three boys in his room. Most nights he has had help in getting them to sleep. Haley has translated for us and it has been wonderful to have her doing it. Rachel and Amy are both adored by the kids and some of their favorite play toys. Christ in working in and through them. It is a privilege as a mom to watch and see them teach others and to be kind.
Be kind. I really messed up one day. We were at a friends swimming. One of the older boys was getting rough with the girls and pushing them in way too much. I sent for Andrew and asked him to push the boy in to let him know he was not the biggest and strongest. That did not go to well. Andrew easily pushed him in the pool. What followed I never would have guessed. The boy punched Andrew. Andrew steps back. The boys lunges forward and kicks Andrew. I called Andrew over to me. He went into the house. I tried to explain it was my fault. The boy did not want to listen. He was too angry. The next mornings devotion included my mistake. The focus was not on the boys mistake but mine. We have a rule of not hitting for any reason. I should not have asked Andrew to push him into the pool. Andrew handled it beautifully. His training and patience paid off. I was proud! Ok, that was not in the devotion. The boy accepted my apology. All was forgiven and fine, he even laughed about it. Lessons learned. These orphans live a tough life. They are used to defending themselves. How awesome that he was not hit back. How awesome he saw forgiveness in action. How awesome how quickly he forgave me. God at work in their lives. Sorry you missed it.
I wish more joined us on this journey. My friend is on this journey with us now. She informed me that she deleted my emails without reading them. That she had no intention of getting involved. She listened to God. Not me, I'm nothing but a servant. She heard God leading her. It is fun to watch and to be around as others are led and listen to God! Love it when new people get involved. You never know what God will do.
