Saturday, January 1, 2011

Help a Family and Find Some Riches

Our friend Sallee and her family need some help raising money for the plane tickets to return to Ethiopia to bring home their beautiful son.  Many of you know that the adoption process for Ethiopia has changed and it is now required to travel twice to bring home the children. 
Look at the change in this little sweetheart.  To me, there is no better picture to capture what the love and nurture of a family can do for a child.  From hopelessness to hope.  From fear to joy.  
When we trust the LORD, He brings the children to us that He has already sovereignly designed.  Whether through birth or adoption, HE is the Creator of each family.  In an imperfect world, where birth families are unable or unwilling to care for a child, the LORD brings about the perfect.
Truly, when we open our hearts to receive the children that He sends to us, we will become richer than we ever thought possible.  Not the riches of the world, though the LORD may choose to send those also if He so desires.  But a richness of treasures found in the heart, in relationships, in learning to love and serve and die to self.   Great wealth is found in learning to see each person as a perfect and beautiful work of the LORD, created in HIS image.  
The LORD’s ways are not our ways.  
“By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” Prov. 24:3-4
The LORD is filling the rooms of our homes with precious and pleasant riches; and those “riches” are little people who make messes, need baths, get sick (by the dozen usually), argue and fight...
AND those “riches” also give the sweetest kisses and hugs, make me laugh and love, bring me sweet gifts of flowers and pictures (pictures where I have a princess crown and look skinnier than I am),  and fill each day of my life with beauty and hope.  
The LORD has been speaking a word to me - “Build”.  I will be searching more in the Bible, but for now, I feel that He has said to me “Keep building”.  
Look again at the picture of Sallee’s little Samson Jude...
Let’s keep building the LORD’s house, and let’s help each other fill our homes with the LORD’s Riches!

5 comments:

  1. Amen!

    It is through the beautiful blessing of adoption that I have come to understand what you have described. My priorites have changed so much from just a few years ago. My heart is so full of love for the orphans...and I pray that other hearts are changed as well. I gave what I could to Sallee. I wish it could have been more but I know that every little bit turns into huge blessings. Sometimes it is easier for 10 people to give $10...than for one person to give $100. But the result is the same. I pray her happy little guy is home soon! I can't imagine returning home without my little one with the burden of how we will return to him. The enemy works hard on these adoptions...but God always prevails!! Glory be to him!

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  2. I will send a little Sallee's way even though she misspells her name :-) ! I will be writing that Proverbs on my chalkboard today as we are praying over filling our last not filled bedroom to capacity!!

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  3. I don't think I would have know that that was the same child. WOW! AMAZING! He is beautiful and how exciting that he has a family!

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  4. Goodness that difference is remarkable!! Praise the Lord that that sweet face has a family!!

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  5. Beautiful! I am so glad that I found your blog :). My first love for Africa came after a 6 week mission trip to Liberia. I LOVE LIBERIA! My husband and I are now waiting to go to Ethiopia for a court date on Feb.14th for our son and hopefully bring him home soon! I would love a huge family like yours!

    Thanks for letting us know of their need!

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