Orphans around the World: a Journey to India

{source: cargocollective.com}

Kolkata (Calcutta) - City of Joy

Capital of West Bengal, India

It was an opportunity to stand on soil I had never stepped foot on before. Yet, I had this feeling much of the journey would resonate deep within my soul. After all, the heart that was the fuel behind the trip was orphan care. Of course when the idea of the trip was first introduced to me I quickly jumped "Sign me up, I am in." My heart lunges at the opportunity to reach out in love to the abandoned. The idea of getting out of my comfort zone in order to love on others in foreign land wasn't completely new to me. We have adopted from the Philippines, worked with orphans in Kenya and Tanzania, and have sponsored children around the globe. 

I had no doubts that I would be experiencing much of the same passion and heartache I had before in other countries. I also knew we would be encountering many new faces, young and old, along the way. There would be new sights to see, sounds to hear and  different spices and smells in the atmosphere. Still, the heartbreak that comes with loving on orphans anywhere in the world would be the unavoidable repeat of heart hurt overload.

This was such an amazing opportunity for me to stretch my heart even bigger, as painful as the process of that can sometimes be. I think what I was most looking forward to was hearing the stories that would be laid out for us as the backdrop of the children's homes we would be visiting.  I knew we would hear heart wrenching stories of abandonment, as well as the heroic stories of those stepping in to be the hands and feet of Jesus, rescuing the once lost. However, as we actually began walking through the journey I was taken back by the immense comfort that sank deep into my heart as I heard their stories first hand. As I watched the children and heard their stories I could almost visibly see the thread of redemption weaving throughout. All of a sudden the world didn't seem quite so vast as it became so evident the Father's fingerprints were everywhere we looked. There would be no holding back from truly feeling in these moments, I could trust the Father had them in His grip.

Children's home to Children's home we would experience much of the same...

The pitter-patter of feet lining up in a row along a dirt driveway. Flower petals pressing into the precious palms of each child, just waiting to be tossed in a beautiful display of welcoming love.

 Freshly painted posters boldly displaying the long awaited guests names. 

It was evident they had spent hours and hours polishing their beautiful talents to be displayed with great pride as a gift to greet us and show us honor. 

AND it didn't disappoint. 

 In fact, it would repeatedly move me to tears.

They were orphans, they were outcasts, they were considered untouchable by the majority.

As I watched them my eyes simply beheld BEAUTIFUL as if it was written all over their faces. The Lord was continually whispering the same word over and over in my ear. "Redeemed".  Yes, indeed they were...REDEEMED.

Children who were intended to be broken and ruined by the enemy of our souls had been adopted by their ABBA Daddy. They were redeemed with the purpose of bringing Him, their loving Father, tremendous glory. For they shined like all of the beauty of His creation does. It is the splendor of the King that simply cannot deny his existence, for it shouts to the universe all that is good and true. It thwarts the plan of destruction and pain that had been set up for them and produces beauty from ashes. Perfect love had claimed them and their destiny had taken a detour towards everlasting love. 

All of these children at the different homes we visited had experienced the LOVE of their Father. This love they had received from Him would forever change their futures. What once may have seemed hopeless was now HOPEFUL. What may have felt useless now had PURPOSE. The circumstances that brought each child to this place varied, the caregivers had different stories, their homes had different appearances. The key is the overall love story of the Father was the same. He had rescued each and every one of them with his love and he would never forsake them.

I LOVE that despite where we come from and what we have been through, God has a plan for it. There is something so incredibly comforting about the fact that we can be a broken mess, living in complete chaos and he can gently remove us from that and breathe hope for a better life into us.

These orphan children in India are literally considered the bottom of the bottom in the caste society. They truly are considered untouchable. Yet God can't take his eyes or heart off of them. He ADORES them. He is coming to rescue each and every one of them. He has created them with a very specific purpose and their story has everything to do with it.

Isn't that the most BEAUTIFUL picture of love in the universe? The bottom of the bottom being rescued by royalty. Being swooped up into the arms of the valiant warrior & protector is something we all long for at some point in our lives. To think the opportunity is always sitting there right in front of us. We just have to choose to enter into the relationship.   

My prayer is that each of us will identify our orphan heart condition and we will seek the love of our Abba Daddy to swoop us up and care for us. That once we have experienced that redeeming love for ourselves we won't be quiet about it, but we will reach out to others and share our story. 

For that would truly be... 

SIMPLY SUBLIME!

The Unexpected & Unforeseen Week during our 7 Experiment: Adoption

Oh this guy! He is my precious, sweet, sensitive, smart, caring, prayer warrior. The boy has had a passion for prayer since he was 4 years old when he would get this intense, immediate, need to desperately have a photo of what God had put on his heart to pray for.

I was first introduced to his deep sensitivity just two weeks after we brought him home from the Philippines. I was reading him a book by Steven Curtis & Mary Beth Chapman,  Shaoey and Dot, when the boy brought me to tears.

 

We turned to the page where there are babies in an orphanage all lined up in cribs. Nate, who was about 9 months in size at 2 years old, leaned into the book and kissed every single baby pictured on the two pages. I am telling you I was undone. I will simply define it as a precious moment that contained too many emotions for words. 

In the 7 years since that time he has remained a faithful saint who seeks God with the the worries and concerns of his heart for this world. He is deep, and it always surprises me what he comes up with to pray about. He is always thinking on a level I didn't know he was capable of. 

So back to present time, here we are finding ourselves in the middle of the food month on our 7 Experiment. Nate had chosen the Philippines for a week's focus of fasting, prayer and food. He was so very determined to dive into a week of intense focus. He had things pressing on his heart for such a time as this. The first day as he was bringing up things we could pray for his homeland he was popping out all kinds of stored up prayer treasures he had tucked away over time. One such thing was..."Oh... and pray for eveyone within a 1 mile radius of the hurricane that hit - there was a lot of destruction and injured people" What???? Where and when did he hear this and tuck it away in his heart? 

Day two into our week and the boy was beginning to show signs of fatigue. He was distracted, having problems focusing and praying. The next day he woke up and came to the table for school, we were doing prayer time and he wanted to share a nightmare he had. His Grandfather in the Philippines had found him by searching his name and he requested that Nate return to the family in the Philippines. He had to leave us and he did not want to go. Of course instantly my heart went out to him. I hugged him and told him that must have been such a terrible feeling. I forgot to clarify one thing though....

As the days of the week passed I am watching him turn even more distracted, disconnected and now he is beginning to seem uncaring of things that would typically break his heart. He literally cannot pray now, he has no words as we gather. We had our prize rabbit run away (which we believe may have been due to Nate forgetting to close the door) and he just didn't seem to even care. So uncharacteristic of him.

As I was sitting there so discouraged, ready to toss in the towel on this 7 food thing. Ready to I don't know what with Nate's flip in personality, feeling some heaviness in my spirit all week and not seeing how to pull this family out of the muck. God gently reminded me... "You forgot" ... "Tell him" 

I approached the topic with him. "Nate, have you been worried every day about being taken away from us?" "Has your nightmare been bothering you ever since you had it?" He instantly heaved forward and grabbed his stomach saying "Ouch" "My stomach hurts" "I feel sick". I sensed this was not a true physical illness but a spiritual one. So I pressed a bit more. 

I pulled the little guy up on my lap and apologized. "I am so sorry Nate. I forgot to tell you...you are safe. You are ours. You belong here. You are protected here - you are a US citizen" and "You know what Nate - more than anything else - your Abba Father cares SO VERY MUCH for you - he is bigger than anything else in the world and he's got your back!" . As we prayed I could see him physically lighten - he began to smile for the first time in days. He was relaxed and snuggling into me. Once again I could tell he had found his security of home. 

At the same time this weeks focus on the Philippines has also stirred up in me a BAZILLION emotions about his Mama. Anytime we talk about her and what she did for him I become a puddle of tears for a couple of days. I cannot even fathom. AND let me tell you - if she knew this little guy- if she could see his adorable face, hear his precious words and know his heart, there is not a chance in this world she would let him go. He is such a treasure. As my heart greatly rejoices in having this tender heart as my son, my heart breaks for the Mama who gave birth to him at a hospital.  

I have played out his arrival into the world in a mental movie many times... 

She arrived at the hospital all alone, scared and sad. She had absolutely no way to care for this precious one she was carrying, no money, no food, no shelter. As she was writhing in pain the nurse handed her forms to fill out. Between contractions she filled out the paperwork with all false information so she could not possibly be found. After a few hours of painful labor, she rested and spent some time holding her precious, brand new baby, she then gently got out of bed, laid him down and snuck off into the night... never to be seen again. 

I can tell you most of those events are in fact truth. I can't tell you what she looks like, I can't tell you the motivation behind her choices. I can tell you - I LOVE HER deeply! I think she was brave & beautiful.

We didn't see any of this weeks story coming. We were eagerly anticipating a week full of joy, celebration and prayer for the hurting in this country. I never for one second thought it would dig up some deep, painful questions. I believe though these are the defining moments in our life where we live out the love of Jesus authentically. Nate needed to go through this, we needed to go through this. We needed to seek God for wisdom in how to navigate this. We needed to walk it with Nate and show him how we respond when we feel under attack. And guess what? God showed up and did what only He can do - He brought light into a situation that seemed full of confusion and despair. 

Next weeks focus: India. Have I told you yet I am headed to India in a couple months? I am praying God allows this to be a week of strengthening and learning. It will be what it needs to be though. The battles make us stronger in the fight as we learn to pick up our weapons and face it head on. 

For today... we will rest and rejoice - for God is GOOD! and...

WE ARE F-A-M-I-L-Y!!!

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. 

-Eph. 6:12 the Message

-Simply Sublime

Family Easter Ideas: DIY Activities & Projects to bring Jesus to the Center of Easter

As many of you probably know, my dear hub and I are the Commanders of our churches mid-week children's program. The ministry is called Awana - and it is FABULOUS! We have typically 300-400 kiddos who participate every week, from ages 2.5yrs old  to 6th grade - plus a smattering of middle schoolers and high schoolers. 

I think many people think a churches mid-week program is something they take their kiddos to in order to learn about the Bible. They believe they are dropping off their sweet things to the professionals who know best how and what to teach. F A L S E ! The best peeps to train up the kiddos are the parents. Parents are called to train up their children in the way they should go.... and WHAT? When they get older they will not depart from it. It does not say.... Sunday School teachers and Youth Leaders train up children in the way they should go. 

Before the little hairs stand-up on the back of your neck, please hear me out. We LOVE what we do. We want to invest in these kiddos and we feel passionately about being able to play a part in helping these kids to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. We also feel a BIG part of our role is to help parents feel capable and excited about being the main spiritual leaders in their children's lives. 

So, with that being said, we decided Easter week would be a great time to take a week off of our club and allow opportunity for the parents to create an Easter Experience night for their families. We gave parents a few ideas on activities that would help them to create a fun family night of learning what Easter is really about.

So move over EASTER BUNNIES...

Here is the list we passed out to the families as they left club tonight. The last idea about the revised Easter Basket came from OhAmanda.com  in her Easter emails she sent out. She has a wealth of information and inspiration to share. So make sure and check her out!

-Simply Sublime

A Love Story: M I N E

"Once Upon a Time..."
Yesterday a dear friend was sharing something profound at our Building Character Co-op during chapel time. She was opening up our minds to grasp how God, from the VERY beginning, was creating our S T O R Y.  She went into movies that deeply impact us and the why behind it. Many times it resonates within us because we are being called to be BOLD, or perhaps to be the one rescued. We long for adventure & romance. We were created for it.

Yet so often we find ourselves discontent in our daily lives which consist of tasks & check marks. Done, check that off, done, done, D O N E! It seems mundane, disconnected, lonely. Example: It is a fact that I cleaned the fridge, swept the floor & made dinner but I certainly am not creating some captivating scene here.  Nothing story worthy at all really. Except maybe to the ones receiving the work of our hands.

Then there are the days that we are literally slapped by some unforeseen force that knocks us down hard.  How many of us would willingly sign up ahead of time for abandonment, abuse, loss, heartbreak or tragedy? Still whether invited or not it becomes a part of our story.

Today I have been pondering on this, my journey, My S T O R Y. At times, especially in the beginning, I longed for that- "always feel good, be happy, found love, happy family, keep smiling", life. It only took a few steps down the road to realize my vision was short-sighted...or was it?

I have certainly had my share of ups and downs. Growing up I had an extremely close family who all lived within a 60 mile radius - most of us lived within a 10 mile radius. Our family that lived in the same town went to church together, vacationed together, had weekly dinners together, most worked together. My Grandparents and Parents both stayed married together. As a little girl this seemed perfect. Right here in this moment is where I set my romantic life vision "This will be my life".

As I stepped into the teens I began to see a different side to life...tragedy. My beloved Grandfather began having health issues. After years of cancer he passed away. He was my hero! This was my first taste of heartbreak. He holds such a dear place in my heart to this day I can't whisper his name without tears brimming. I knew from this moment on my story would be forever changed. It could not possibly look as simple as what I had planned.

I won't go into all the details of my real story as this would be a novel. I will tell you it could indeed be a novel, and most would not believe it to be true. I have experienced immense love, loss, tragedy, extreme pain, I have been rescued and I have gone on amazing adventures. I wouldn't say I would voluntarily sign up for all of it, had I been given some foresight, yet looking back I wouldn't trade it for anything. Every single line of my story has been richly written by a loving hand. I know I can trust the Author. I have found this to be true. All of the ups and down in the journey have helped me to realize there is only one hand I can completely trust to reach up to...and He just happens to be holding a pen in the other hand!
-SimplySUBLIME

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. -Hebrews 12:2

In my thought process today I thought it would be fun to  create an etsy treasury representing a small portion of my story. Here is a link to it.
My etsy treasury of the day, but for my life.