A Simple Luncheon

My 90-something-year-old granny is in town, 

visiting from the gorgeous plains of the Texas panhandle.

thankfully our return from vacation overlapped her stay by a day, so we were able to see her.

the plan was for my parents, grandmother, and my 2 teenage cousins (who are also visiting) to come for lunch today.

this morning, i was praying for my teenaged cousins, 
who may or may not know Christ as I do.

i ran around the house, steam mopping, dusting, picking up, 
prepping chicken, cutting watermelon,

praying.

i caught myself thinking that one simple lunch wouldn't matter.

my faith wouldn't be noticeable.

they'd eat, they'd leave.

and then I stopped.

and I realized that over the course of my life,

i HAVE had very memorable moments where the kindness of ONE person, in ONE instance,

made a difference in my life.

the counselor at church camp that hugged me as i sat on the wooden steps 

under a starry night and cried out to Jesus.

the sweet church lady who prayed with me when I decided to be baptized.

the older girl at college that wrote me an encouraging note.

the seminary professor's wife that welcomed me into her beautiful home for dinner,

graciously visiting and asking me about my life.

the pastor's wife that invited me to her Sunday school class 

when i didn't really fit with any other class for the summer.

 the co-worker that spoke kind words to me in the teacher's lounge.

those people? 

i doubt they have any idea the impact they had on my life in just 

one moment. 

one conversation.

may I live my life in such a way that those Divine moments,

{most of which I'm not even aware of and won't remember later}

further the cause of Christ.
not for my glory, but for His Great name.


may I be aware that simple conversations?
one small act of Kindess?
they could be remembered forever.

may I make them worth remembering.

 

 

Our Journey to Africa, part 2

we were in between houses, having moved to an apartment while we were building.

our sweet grace abigail had just turned one.

and my baby becoming not-so-baby anymore had my heart longing.

i can remember standing in the shower and crying.

Lord, I want more babies.

more children.

please, Lord, more children.

---

for anyone that's known me for awhile,

you'll know that grace's pregnancy was not easy on me or my family.

hyperemesis gravidaraum made pregnancy a living nightmare,

a nightmare i could not live again.

but i wanted more children.

Lord, please, more children,

became my heart's cry.

---

 and two years after I saw my friend's photos of a small country in east Africa,

she messaged me.

she was going back.

my heart skipped a beat.

{she was going BACK}.

and this time?

i could go with her.

----

thousands of questions later.

thousands of prayers later.

thousands of conversations later,

i boarded a plane from Chicago O'Hare, 

bound for Ug*nda, east Africa.

our hearts were open for adoption

if that's what the Lord had for us.

i longed for more children,

and our hearts had been broken for the fatherless.

as I prayed for months before I went,

I had about six specific prayers I prayed over and over and over

regarding adoption.

Lord,

let me meet our son on the first day in Africa.

 looking back on it, I have no idea why I prayed that.

why was meeting the child the Lord had for us on the first day so important to me?

for whatever reason, I prayed that prayer for days before I left.

---

two and a half years ago,

that plane touched down in Ent*bbe.

we traveled around,

and our first full day in Africa?

spent in an orphanage, 

volunteering, helping the workers change diapers, feed, laugh, and play with sweet, sweet, children.

and that first day?

i sat down on a chair,

giving a child a bottle.

and then, 

in a moment that my heart will remember forever,

a toddler crawled over to me,

pulled himself up on the hem of my long black skirt,

and I looked down into the deep brown eyes of a child.

a child that we would begin to plead for and pray for.

over and over and over again.

---

and though it has taken two years,

a lot of prayers and questions,

and the Lord has finally said YES.

He has paved a way.

that toddler is now an almost-4-year old.

and in the coming months, he will 

{Lord willing}

become legally what my heart has known since that very first day.

our son.

----

to be continued.

Just As I Am on BlogLovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

 

so, I don't overly keep up on these things, but i, personally, enjoy following some friends' blogs, and used to use google reader to keep up with them. 

but, for some crazy reason, google reader is adios.

so, i joined BlogLovin', a fun place to keep track of lots of your fave blogs and to read all of them at the same place, which is nice!

so, click on the link at the top and you'll be able to follow me there. 

although i know i don't blog for the amount of followers,

{i would write if no one read. the words spill out of my heart}

i do know that some like to read my blog and want you to be able to keep up.