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| Don't they look so sweet and angelic here? |
My friends, my children have humbled me. I
mean it. I have found myself flat-out speechless, dumbfounded, and convicted by
their sweet hearts and wise words. They have given me the hope and camaraderie I
have desperately been seeking for.
Since my trip to Africa I have not been able
to process what to do with all of my "stuff".
When I returned home, I went on a tear going
through our closets to give stuff away to the poor, but after a while I was
back in the rush and bustle of ministry and life with three active and involved
kids.
When our
schedule slowed down, moments would occur when I would once again look at all
that I had and feel overwhelmed...where do I start? I really don't need this
stuff. I wanted it, but I didn't need it. (Sadly I know I bought it because I
had convinced myself that I needed it. Oh the tangled web I can weave.)
Now, back to my kids. I am looking at our new
school year and praying, asking the Lord... No. Let me be honest here, I was anxiously begging
the Lord to show me how to teach my kids to live like missionaries. To love
like Jesus loves.
How do I keep them from getting caught up in
the consumer nature and craziness of our country? I don’t want them always
"needing" more “stuff”. Isn’t “need” a funny word to us? We have
stretched it and molded it to be mainly an excuse to buy what we “want”.
Finally the other day God put it to me quite
simply.
"Daughter, go and talk to them. Share your heart, your struggles,
and then ask them about me."
So I did. I called my oldest children to the
table and I began to share the struggles I have faced with wanting more stuff.
(By the way, I think there is a reason the magazine is called “Better Homes and
Gardens”. It’s because those homes are always better than mine, but I must digress.)
I shared my struggle with not wanting to give
things away because I have a crazy sentimental attachment to it. They nodded
their heads and my son gave me a skeptical look. His sharp young mind was
whirring at a hundred miles per second trying to guess where this was headed. I
then asked them,
"What did Jesus ask us to do in the
Bible?”
I had my blank sheet of paper ready and a pen
in hand, waiting. There was only a
moment’s pause before my 7 year old daughter started with a barrage of ideas
flowing from her excited little lips. She waved her arms about and occasionally
jumped up from her seat as a new thought would occur to her.
My friends, it was a constant stream of
thrilled chatter that filled the air and covered the front and back of my
paper. Honestly, it was hard to keep up with them. Occasionally I had to ask
my children to pause while mom finished writing. I then proudly reread the amazing list
to them out loud.
I was humbled and in awe. I sat there quietly mulling
over the list again. I whispered silent prayers of thanksgiving to the Lord,
for their pure earnest hearts.
Here
is their beautiful and humbling list. I tried to stay true to their own words
as they were speaking.
“What does Jesus ask us to do in the Bible?”
- Give
stuff to people.
- Love People!
- Be nice.
- Love our enemies.
- Only
worship God! No other god’s before Him.
- Pray
for people
- Tell
people about Him, most of the time!
- Celebrate
Jesus and especially at Christmas we do, but really we should every day.
- Help
people! Even if they are on the other team and you are in a race. You should
stop and help them!
- Give
food to people
- Help
the poor
- Travel
to tell people about Jesus in other places.
- Follow
the 10 commandments.
- Don’t
leave anyone behind. Go find them if they are lost.
- Help
people who are in trouble.
- Listen
to our Mom and Dad.
- Be
happy with what God gives us.
- Give
presents to others.
- Send
His message to people who don’t know Him.
- Take
care of what God gives us, like our home, animals, the earth, and our things.
- He
wants me to just be me. I don’t have to try to be someone else.
- Keep
my promises and don’t lie.
- He
always wants us to give, learn about Him, and worship Him every day!
At this point I was getting a bit teary eyed. (Note to self; I must thank our amazing Sunday School teachers at church!) I swallowed the tears back and finally asked them,
"How
can we start doing these things every day? How can we live this out?”
They sat there quietly thinking for a
moment... Then once again my daughter excitedly hopped off the bench and said
in her sweet sing song voice,
"Mom, let’s go through my toys and stuffed
animals. I should give them away to other kids who don’t have them. Can we do it
right now?"
I was in shock. Instead of the normal whine of
my children
"Mom you are so meeeeaaaan! Why do I have
to sort through my toys?"
My daughter excitedly raced to the work. As we
began to go through her toys, her younger sister joined in and within an hour
they had 3 garbage bags full of toys to give away.
Let me tell you, these were some really nice
toys too. Sadly, oh for the shame of it all friends, I had moments where I
struggled with their choices. I struggled because I knew the cost or the identity
of the gift giver for each item they were giving away, but then…
How could I destroy what God was clearly doing
in their hearts? These precious girls even kept a few toys to the side to give
to their friends because those were the toys their friends always wanted to
play with when they were over. It was…
Well…
Absolutely beautiful.
I found hope that day.
I know now, I am not alone.
"Jesus, for your kingdom to come, mine
will have to go."
Please Lord let us not be caught up in this
machine of constant consumerism again. Thank you for the freedom that comes
from desiring you and your heart first!
What about you, my friends? Will you join us?
Please sign up and follow this blog with your email
address. It’s absolutely free. We will just be fellow adventurers on a journey
to follow Christ.
Would you like to join me in reading “Seven”
by Jen Hatmaker? Please, leave me a comment or any questions that you may have
about it. (Or join the women at (in)courage in the Bloom book club as they take us through the book including special interviews with the author!)
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| Now this is more accurate than our lovely photo at the beginning of this blog. (Please excuse the ketch-up on their faces.) Let's just be honest, our family is a goofy and fun loving bunch. ;) |
Tomorrow, I will be posting updates for you on
our journey with the “Free the Girls” drive. Also, I will fill you in on the
next challenge that my children and I will undertake in our adventure to live
the way Jesus asked us to.
Please continue praying for the children at Compassion to find sponsors or consider becoming a blogger for Compassion.
I am praying for you today friends! Remember
don’t limit God this week; He has BIG plans for each of us. Take time to praise
Him and thank Him for the big and the small. He is truly amazing.
