There was a beautiful story on the radio the other day. It seems that a baby boy was found in the manger in a nativity scene outside a church in Germany. The baby had a message attached to him that his mother was unable to care for him because her circumstances were so poor. She wished that someone would give her son the love and care she was not able to provide. She made it clear that she did not want to give her child away, but felt she had no options. She assumed the safest place to put her child was in the manger, with a prayer that someone would find him quickly.
Someone did find him and the youth minister and young people at the church took the baby under their care. They worked to provide the child with formula, diapers, and other supplies necessary to keep him fed and clothed. The rest of the church took donations for food, housing, and whatever the mother needed. They sent a letter to her when they discovered who she was and told her that her child was safe, and that they were sorry they hadn't known about her - but now that they did, she was part of them and they would walk through her difficult times with her.
This is truly a church. They didn't wonder whether a committee should be formed, whether the mother was conning them, lazy, or whether what they provided would be used for a purpose other than what they had intended. That didn't matter. What mattered to them was that a person had a need and they decided to fill that need.
It's Christmas and we hear several times throughout a day that there are those with needs and our help is needed. Those same people, with the same needs, are here all year 'round. Why is it so important that we help at Christmas? I believe that God wants us to help all year long. However, Christmas is a special time. Even with all the complaints of commercialism, there is still the small voice reminding us that we should give. We have a reminder that God has given to us. We have his Son.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Miracles DO Happen
When I last blogged, we were waiting to hear whether our son, Ron, his wife, Shannon and their two daughters, Tierney and Amissa, arrived safely in Ukraine on their quest to adopt a sister for Tierney and Amissa. At least that was the girls' take on the trip.
We have traveled with them on their adventure through Ron's blog, galyastale.blogspot.com. It turned out that they spent their first few days in Kiev, without access to any internet connection. It appears that most internet in Ukraine is dial-up, and when the phones are down (which occurs frequently), there is no internet. This was only discovered after two sets of frantic parents began talking together and then began contacting everyone we could think of to find out if they had heard from our son and daughter (after all - they had our granddaughters with them)!
Once we knew they were all safe, it became a journey of happiness and sadness all at the same time. We're thrilled that Galya is their daughter, but saddened that it doesn't become official until this coming Tuesday. Until that time, Galya must remain at the orphanage.
We have prayed for God to speed things up for them. With Christmas coming up, we all agreed that it would be awful for Shannon and Galyna to remain behind while Galya's visa application and paperwork progressed through the Embassy system. They contacted the Embassy and the wonderful people there are allowing paperwork to be faxed so they can begin quickly to make it possible for our family to return home. Ron and Shannon were notified just a couple of days ago,that they will (barring last-minute glitches) be returning home together this week!
Thank you, US Embassy (and especially, thank you God!). We will be together as a family soon.
This adventure has shown me that there are many answers to prayer we have every day, many of which we do not recognize. Most are chalked up to "coincidence" or "luck". Just waking up in the morning to serve God another day is the most miraculous. I have often gone to bed at night with the thought that any one of us might not wake the next morning. My own mother went home to heaven at night while she slept. It could happen to any of us.
Each night this compels me to tell my husband that I love him, even when we have disagreed over something earlier in the evening. When either of us goes somewhere, we express our love. Even when we are very tired, we still whisper that we love each other. My mother's last words to me, and mine to her, were "I love you." It is a great comfort to know that the final words we may say to someone were those of love.
This bunny trail has really taken a turn. However, I think it fits well. What better recognition of miracles than the miracle of a new family being formed and love being expressed? Isn't that what this very season is about? God loved us so much that he sent his son to a new family here on earth for the precise reason of expressing his love?
We have traveled with them on their adventure through Ron's blog, galyastale.blogspot.com. It turned out that they spent their first few days in Kiev, without access to any internet connection. It appears that most internet in Ukraine is dial-up, and when the phones are down (which occurs frequently), there is no internet. This was only discovered after two sets of frantic parents began talking together and then began contacting everyone we could think of to find out if they had heard from our son and daughter (after all - they had our granddaughters with them)!
Once we knew they were all safe, it became a journey of happiness and sadness all at the same time. We're thrilled that Galya is their daughter, but saddened that it doesn't become official until this coming Tuesday. Until that time, Galya must remain at the orphanage.
We have prayed for God to speed things up for them. With Christmas coming up, we all agreed that it would be awful for Shannon and Galyna to remain behind while Galya's visa application and paperwork progressed through the Embassy system. They contacted the Embassy and the wonderful people there are allowing paperwork to be faxed so they can begin quickly to make it possible for our family to return home. Ron and Shannon were notified just a couple of days ago,that they will (barring last-minute glitches) be returning home together this week!
Thank you, US Embassy (and especially, thank you God!). We will be together as a family soon.
This adventure has shown me that there are many answers to prayer we have every day, many of which we do not recognize. Most are chalked up to "coincidence" or "luck". Just waking up in the morning to serve God another day is the most miraculous. I have often gone to bed at night with the thought that any one of us might not wake the next morning. My own mother went home to heaven at night while she slept. It could happen to any of us.
Each night this compels me to tell my husband that I love him, even when we have disagreed over something earlier in the evening. When either of us goes somewhere, we express our love. Even when we are very tired, we still whisper that we love each other. My mother's last words to me, and mine to her, were "I love you." It is a great comfort to know that the final words we may say to someone were those of love.
This bunny trail has really taken a turn. However, I think it fits well. What better recognition of miracles than the miracle of a new family being formed and love being expressed? Isn't that what this very season is about? God loved us so much that he sent his son to a new family here on earth for the precise reason of expressing his love?
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