Happy Wednesday, church family!
When Dave and I were first married, we decided that we wanted to have two children on our own, and if we wanted more, we’d adopt. Over the last few years, we realized adopting another child doesn’t have to be something done legally. Our girls’ have had several friends with awful home situations, relationships, etc. There’s now a phrase that has become common in our family, “Do we need to adopt them?” We’ve gone as far as trying to figure out where we could put another bed to accommodate someone actually living with us, but mostly, we’ve found that our house has become a safe haven for teenagers, for a day, a season, or whenever they need us. Dave and I realized that all we need to do is provide a place where these kids feel heard, loved, supported, (fed), and safe… things they often don’t get elsewhere.
As Andy was preaching about Ruth asking Boaz to be her guardian redeemer, I was thinking about the teenagers in our lives that we have been blessed to be able to cover with our protective mama and papa bear love. It sounds lovely, beautiful, and such a sweet story, but we’ve had people along the way criticize us for not shunning certain kids for their choices, or exposing our own children to those types of people. I realized that like so many choices that we make following God’s lead, there’s always resistance. Whether it’s the little voice inside your head saying “hey, save that $$, you need to use it for xyz”, or “ooooh, what is so and so going to say about that?” The enemy just thrives on trying to pull us away from our calling.
This week, I found myself in a situation where I had a choice to either show love, support, and to be an individual’s guardian redeemer, or be upset with their choices, and show them just how unwise I thought those choices were. In that split second, I had to make a decision. I said a quick “Jesus help”, and then opened my arms for the hug. Honestly, I thought this would be difficult, but really, it was easy. It was my gut, the Holy Spirit, who guided me in how to act in that moment. It’s not my responsibility to judge. My job is to point to Jesus, and embody His love to others. Later, I heard the voice of the enemy, the anticipation of judgement from others, the second guessing of my decision. Thank you, Debbie, for reminding me to tell the devil to take a hike!! Friends, when we are called to be someone’s guardian redeemer, the situation might not be perfect. We might wonder where someone is going to spend the money we give them, what others will think, what it will cost us. But I know that following my Savior outweighs all my human doubts and worries.
Jesus, thank You for being my guardian redeemer, and showing me what it looks like to cover others with my wings. Thank You for the honor of loving the kids in my life that aren’t related by blood. Thank You for showing me how to love them unconditionally, in a way that they might not have been loved before. I choose to tell the devil to shut up, and embrace my calling to love those who You put in my path. Bless and seal these good things in Your name, amen.
May your week be blessed,
Lisa
