I think my favorite quote is this, "Yes, we are a Hallelujah people, and redemption is our song. But let’s not cheapen that redemption by acting like it wasn’t costly."
I snapped this picture just a few minutes ago. It has already been a month and I still look at him and simply can not believe he is here. It is over...the paperwork, the hours in the car, the waiting game. Yet, truly that was the easy part. It is actually only just beginning. The bonding, the attachment, the medical needs, the language hurdles. The important things. The ones that come with lasting consequences if we don't get them right - or if God doesn't show up.
God always shows up, you say.
And you would be right. He does. But, I can tell you with no hesitation that He does not always show up the way I want Him to. Sometimes us "Hallelujah People" have to wait for Sunday for a very very long time. Sometimes Sunday only comes on the "other side." I know too much to think otherwise. I know the stats on human trafficking and child rape. I know there are hundreds of thousands of children who need homes, both internationally and here in America. Our foster system is full of lonely children - they are broken, confused, and that is displayed to those around them as anger and aggression. I know there are millions of homeless people worldwide who are not lazy or looking for a handout, but who truly need help - their story could be mine, or yours. Where is God?
That is the question of the ages, right? Why doesn't He "show up?" The question we really want to ask it "why doesn't He fix it?" He could reach down and point His cosmic finger and BOOM - fixed. He could just speak it, like He did in the beginning.
But, He is not going to.
How do I know this? Don't I believe in miracles? Absolutely I do. Every single day. Look at that face up there. He is my miracle. So are his brothers and sisters. So are the boys yet to join our family. (Yes, there are more to come) So are my sons and daughters in law to come and my grandchildren - biological and adopted. I submit to you that the olive shoots around your table are without a doubt your greatest contribution to this absolutely broken world. The "blessings" we all love to talk about are not what we think they are. They are not money, houses, vacations. They are people. Living, breathing, broken people. Just like me. People that are needy - stuck, as the author that the blog post said, in the "messy middle." And sometimes friends, it costs us everything. Hallelujah, Sunday is coming. But, here and now this life is made up of a lot of Saturdays. And you know what, God IS here. He is here in the broken and messy. He gives us glimpses of what is to come. That glorious day when He will show up in a way that can no longer be denied by the majority.
Oh - what a day! I can't wait - this very second would not be too soon for me!
Come Lord Jesus!
Happy Resurrection Day to all of you. Let's be people that show up every day and sit in the mess with those who are hurting. After all, don't you want someone to sit in your mess with you when it is your turn?
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