All Ears
I have 4 children of my own and one teenager that is becoming more and more like a daughter to me. God seems to be convinced that Di needs us, or we need her... even just for a short season.
Recently, we found Di a room of her own with 2 of our close friends. These friends are out of town and a man is staying there who is not a good influence and the situation is uncomfortable for her. So... she is back with us. It is fun having her around and I'm quickly learning what I'm going to need for the teenage years.
Ears.
Friday night, Di and I sat on our back stairs with Di braiding Arlee's hair. Di talked for 2 hours straight. Arlee and I listened as she shared information about being a teenager here. During the conversation, she told us about a friend who is pregnant and thinking about terminating her pregnancy. The girl has come to Di for advice and Di has spoken freely about what she is learning from God.
I almost squealed as I listened to Di talking about Bible verses to share with her friend. And yet, I was also keenly aware that my Arlee could completely understand everything Di was sharing with me in Spanish. Always the thinker, Arlee later asked me 'Mommy, who do some mommies really want babies and some mommies don't?' This conversation has arisen in the past in relation to our boys and their adoptions. Yes, my kids know things from our fostering experiences that most children their age do not have to know. I am grateful that they are comfortable enough to vocalize it all. Me, I'm never quite prepared, but still all ears.
Something later dawned on me. My path would probably have never crossed paths with Di's friend in need. If it had, why would she have trusted me, a cream-colored stranger, with her innermost turmoil? But Di... she was and is a safe place for the girl to come. Di, right here in her world, is having an impact on others. Di, who is on the cusp of being a woman while trying to relive a lost girlhood with Peter Pan movies and American Girl dolls. God uses the ones who are willing to listen and act ... not only the ones who are seminary trained and fit the international mission organization profile of a 'missionary.'
This is a picture of what missions at home and abroad should be. We listen and build into the ones God gives us (perhaps, only a few) and then they teach what they know to others... and so on. God's love spreads exponentially. This isn't about me and how many I impact. It is about what God can do with one horribly unprepared, middle-aged woman who so desperately needs His wisdom and what He can do with one tender teenage heart who seeks to know her Savior more each day.
All of the pressure is off, friends... we will never be all things to all people. Being available to the ones God brings; preparing the good soil; sowing the spiritual seeds... faithful in the little things.... God brings the harvest. Lives entwined with Christ bear His fruit. And so on.
Preparing my ears to be good listening devices as my kids quickly grow. They need my ears open and my mouth speaking carefully. Praising God today for a glimpse of His mercy on all of us.
Recently, we found Di a room of her own with 2 of our close friends. These friends are out of town and a man is staying there who is not a good influence and the situation is uncomfortable for her. So... she is back with us. It is fun having her around and I'm quickly learning what I'm going to need for the teenage years.
Ears.
Friday night, Di and I sat on our back stairs with Di braiding Arlee's hair. Di talked for 2 hours straight. Arlee and I listened as she shared information about being a teenager here. During the conversation, she told us about a friend who is pregnant and thinking about terminating her pregnancy. The girl has come to Di for advice and Di has spoken freely about what she is learning from God.
I almost squealed as I listened to Di talking about Bible verses to share with her friend. And yet, I was also keenly aware that my Arlee could completely understand everything Di was sharing with me in Spanish. Always the thinker, Arlee later asked me 'Mommy, who do some mommies really want babies and some mommies don't?' This conversation has arisen in the past in relation to our boys and their adoptions. Yes, my kids know things from our fostering experiences that most children their age do not have to know. I am grateful that they are comfortable enough to vocalize it all. Me, I'm never quite prepared, but still all ears.
Something later dawned on me. My path would probably have never crossed paths with Di's friend in need. If it had, why would she have trusted me, a cream-colored stranger, with her innermost turmoil? But Di... she was and is a safe place for the girl to come. Di, right here in her world, is having an impact on others. Di, who is on the cusp of being a woman while trying to relive a lost girlhood with Peter Pan movies and American Girl dolls. God uses the ones who are willing to listen and act ... not only the ones who are seminary trained and fit the international mission organization profile of a 'missionary.'
This is a picture of what missions at home and abroad should be. We listen and build into the ones God gives us (perhaps, only a few) and then they teach what they know to others... and so on. God's love spreads exponentially. This isn't about me and how many I impact. It is about what God can do with one horribly unprepared, middle-aged woman who so desperately needs His wisdom and what He can do with one tender teenage heart who seeks to know her Savior more each day.
All of the pressure is off, friends... we will never be all things to all people. Being available to the ones God brings; preparing the good soil; sowing the spiritual seeds... faithful in the little things.... God brings the harvest. Lives entwined with Christ bear His fruit. And so on.
Preparing my ears to be good listening devices as my kids quickly grow. They need my ears open and my mouth speaking carefully. Praising God today for a glimpse of His mercy on all of us.
Comments
I'll be praying for you, for Di and for this young friend.