Tuesday, March 13, 2012

where the rubber meets the road


I know Im not the only one.
to sit and wonder what this is all about......
this thing called faith.
such a heated topic
like politics
dont bring it up
unless you are ready.
I guess what gets me the most
is how people use faith
to beat others to a pulp,
the kind of faith that is law- shoulds and shouldnts.....

convictions driving them - horrible acts of crime.

what I am looking for
is someone
male or female
that says," I am a christian."
not just with their mouth
If we claim this title.

Should we even have to say it???

Shouldnt it be evident?
not driving to the local church
to sit, sing, up and down- repeat.
Get back in the car and nothing that happened between those 4 walls
really change how they live
the Day in and day out.

drop some money in the plate as it passes by and it will ease my conscious.
read about the orphans, widows, homeless.... my neighbor.
but not really do anything about it.
(you cant possibly be talking about MOI can you?!)
Wear that cross around your neck
but what about the stuff on the inside.

Dont get me wrong,
I am not speaking of perfection.
(did you know-There is no such thing.)
I am not speaking of doing good things
or being a good person- because that will get you into heaven.
( I'll give you firsthand info -it wont work)
nope. None of that.
Im speaking of someone CLAIMING to be a Christian
ant not studying Gods word,
not getting to know the reality of faith.

Cuz the real Christ I know,
will rock your world,
it will cause 40- somethings like my husband and I
to adopt a child with Down Syndrome
at the time our youngest was 16.....
crazy isnt it?!
and if you know me you KNOW I am not saying this to "toot my own horn."
honey I dont even own a horn!!!! (just the mouthpiece)
We didnt really care what anyone else said about the matter
even the ones that said they "knew Him."
because its not between you and I.
When you know that person called Christ,
really know Him
it changes you.
It changes the way you see things
the way you love others.
You cannot sit still and NOT do something,
anything
about what we see day to day going on all around us.
(dont get me wrong either- I am not someone that believes everyone should home school, or adopt, or.......)
But if you are the "real deal"
you better quit sitting on your hands
thinking its someone elses job......


Here, let me give you an illustration.

You see,
I heard a story,
goes something like this,
"He was a lawyer, and sold everything.
Moved his family to a far off land, called Ecuador, to start an orphanage......."


When I speak of an orphanage
I am not speaking of places you hear about on other websites.
Orphanages where the children are mistreated, hungry,
dont get proper medical attention and services.
No, what God used this man to do was set an example.




This is how children that have lost the most basic need we all have.......
a family
should be treated.




With the best care and attention that can be provided.




A place where the children are raised with love
and dignity
and respect




A place where they are taught about love
and prepared to meet their new family.












a place where both physical needs
and emotional needs are met.


I met this man for the first time back in Feb 2010.
At a local Pann*era.
He didnt seem like what I would have imagined
I dont know what I imagined.
But I fell in love.
how could I not????
His eyes radiated that love for Christ
that made me know he was genuine,
and that smile.
Yup, the real deal.
We sat in Pann*era discussing our adoption,
the hard hard place we found ourselves in.
Between a rock and a hard place.
It was gonna take a miracle......
I could tell they felt our anguish.
Not just husband and I,
but they knew our daughter,
they knew a year had passed since she was shown photos of her Mammi and Papi.
They hurt for our Lil G.
They picked up their cell right there and called Ecuador.
Called their office and talked with them about documents
And asked for action by the end of the week.
They had that kind of faith.
They had built that kind of reputation for themselves.

Not long after our return from Ecuador with our little one we learned of his health concerns,
they came back to the States to have tests run. We were all shocked to learn of his diagnosis- ALS- Lou Gehrigs disease.



Its been a year and a half.
I was shocked to learn that he went home,
his real home
on Sunday morning.
I find myself so so sad to know this.
Its all selfish,
I think if I had been with him,
and really knew him like his wife and children
the pain and anguish of knowing he is gone
would be diminished by the fact that it was all grace......
the fact that he didnt have to walk further down that ALS path
really was grace......
so, I will be selfish and cry some more today
and possibly tomorrow,
and well, tears come easy for me.
But I know, that he did it well,
not perfect,
but he took those words on a page and allowed them to really sink in
and make him the man that really did something about it.

I remain,
Under His wings,
Anna



7 comments:

  1. Sending love and prayers of peace to you my friend as you are grieving the loss of your beautiful friend. I can only imagine the void you feel and will continue to feel but I am certain that ecah and everyday, form this moment on, each time you look at sweet G, his face will appear before you and you will smile and know that he is indeed home.

    Thank you for sharing this beautiful post and the video. That was amazing. That band, incredible. Such an awesome example of Christian music that is hip and modern, while at the same time sending a message worthy of listening to. There is a Sirius radio station I listen to all the time in the car called The Message. Love it. Will be keeping my ear out for these guys.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, what an amazing, beautiful man he must have been. I am so sorry to hear this. There should definitely be more people like that in the world.

    Beautiful, heart-felt post, Anna. And I totally hear you on those people "claiming" to be Christian. I always wonder, with me *not* having any organized religion, believing only in the good people have inside of them, how so many people can claim to be Christian, yet not have that goodness in their hearts, or really understand and practice what they preach? So many hypocrites out there, praying for new cars and other material things, still being cruel or unfeeling. Never makes sense to me.

    *stepping down...* :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. So sorry to hear of the loss of this special man. What a life he had. He lived Christ and that is beautiful. To know he was Christian by his love. The way I hope to live. Thank you for sharing this story with us Anna! Prayers to his loved ones!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This was amazing to read, thanks for sharing your heart in this post, God bless you all, hugs to your sweet G. :)

    `Scarlett

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amen, sister. Knowing Christ changed my world radically. I know it doesn't always need to be that way, but it was for me. That orphanage is amazing. I hope to adopt some day. We are blessed to have people like your friend enter our lives and change them forever.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, forgot to say, I think what you say about "Christians" is what Christ mean when he told the story about the people coming to the wedding without the "wedding garment" - Christian in name, but that's it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, this is heart-wrenching. It's so hard to understand why a family has to hurt from the loss of a loved one...and especially the loss of one who poured his heart out for Christ like your friend, someone who changed lives. But like you said, "all is grace" and all we can do is trust...and PRAY!

    What a beautiful orphanage; I'm so glad G was cared for with such love before you brought her home. We hope to adopt someday too--I read about the orphans everywhere and I can hardly stand the fact that I can't just run out and bring 10 of them home right away. I'm already praying for my little one, whether or not he/she has even been born yet.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by. We would love it if you left a comment.