Do I have His Heart? Do I see them?

I haven't blogged much about our small group's journey through Fields of the Fatherless yet. It has been almost a raw experience. When I think of it, I think of holy discussion. We have challenged and encouraged each other to see our world differently. How our discussion started, however, may have been a bit odd.

The first thing you must know is this, at our church adoption is EVERYWHERE! There are at least 4 families in leadership that have adopted with another 6 in process and more waiting or wanting to adopt. It is pretty common place, very accepted and at times, I believe creates a bit of pressure. So, walking into Fields was a bit scary for some. If you add that to who I am as group leader. . well, I'm pretty sure people thought, "Oh, here we go again". You see, I'm a bit passionate. . .ok, strike that, I'm EXTREMELY passionate. Pretty much all of those who are close to me or who even talk to me on an occasional basis, know my passion. So, think of those things while I walk you through our first discussion. . .

The first thing we talked about is how to determine Biblical TRUTH, the absolute kind. . the mandate for all believers kind. By this, I mean, the truth that is true no matter what circumstance, time or place you find yourself in. I started by saying to the girls, "please, I ask you to cast aside who I am while you read this book." I knew, that if they thought of these concepts in terms of who I am (passionate about Africa, involved 20 hours a week, adoptive parent, etc.) that it would distract them from what God was telling them about THEM. Then, we discussed whether or not they believed that this call to help widows, orphans and the lonely was absolute truth. YES! They had no problem with that one! The next bit of our conversation was the part some of you may scratch your head at. . .I talked for a while about how I believe that adoption is not a mandate. YES, adoption is wonderful, God-inspired, beautiful picture of what He has done, amazing way to work in both us and the world. .however, it is not something I believe that EVERY Christian is called to. And, most importantly it cannot reach every orphan. Not all countries allow adoption and this call to aid the orphan HAS to be able to apply to them! Not everyone can afford it, not everyone has the time to give or the resources necessary to parent another child. Do I think that God calls people who can't afford it and He provides? Absolutely! However, adoption is just ONE piece of the puzzle. And, it's a piece they see on a VERY regular basis. These girls walked my adoption process with me and we are in the process of walking 2 of our other small group girls through it now. What we talked about is not getting distracted by adoption as the only way to live out this mandate. For some, their hubbies are begging and they aren't ready. For some, they are aching to do this and their hubbies aren't there yet. For some, they need to wait a few more years. . .but, here and NOW we are all called to live out the call to compassionate lives, whether through sponsoring a child oversees or befriending a child in our own neighborhood!

I believe that started us down a wonderful journey of exploring what it might mean in each of our lives if we just said yes to Jesus.

We talked about how God sees the hurting and how we see the hurting. . what would change if we saw Jesus in the homeless man at the intersection. What about the seniors (all lonely, many widowed) who were sitting RIGHT THEN in our church foyer for Seniors First. My friend, Sunday shared this amazing story that opened our eyes a bit to HIS view.

You see, she had gone out that last week to a restaurant. They had horrible service! Really bad! So bad the waitress came over and offered to bring out the manager for them. But, instead of leaving in a fume, as the others left, Sunday went back to the table, placed her arm around the waitress and said "it's ok. .don't let it ruin your night". The waitress broke down telling her how awful she was at this job compared to the other girls. . how she was a single mom who used to get to stay at home with her kids.

What we realized is this. . .the mandate to minister to the Fatherless, the Lonely, the Widows, the Poor and Needy is about two things. .
1. Lord, change my heart so I care about who and what you care about. . then,
2. Lord, open my eyes and make me aware! Because truly, IF I have His heart and see them, I WILL act. . His heart will not allow me to live any differently!

We have talked each week about the necessity about just being willing and ready. About seeing people. . whether in the news stories of the earthquake in China, the statistics of the AIDs orphans in Africa or the waitress at our restaurant. Do I see them and am I ready and willing to serve them? We must then obey. For some, God will call us to help right then and there. . to get involved in that crisis. . for others, it may be to pray. But, are we asking?

How we live out this call may look different. . I may live mine out primarily through orphan ministry in Africa while Jess may shepherd foster families and children alike, while Susan may minster to the seniors. . however, it's all one call. And we each have to be ready and willing.

Lord, take us. Take this group of women who are ready to serve. May we be willing to enter into the world of the hurting. To be disturbed and interrupted by YOU. Open our eyes that we may see those around us. Those in our family, our church, our community and our world whom you have called us to offer hope to. Use us. Make a difference in our world through us. .and oh Lord, change us!