Month: December 2016

I am undone.

I have wept. I have watched in awe as someone’s world crumbles, literally, around them. Yesterday I held my daughter and prayed for the babies who lost their Mamas, for the Mamas who lost their babies, the siblings who had to witness the death of their family.

I’m having a hard time fathoming this reality. As I sit in my warm(ish) home in Michigan, my daughter asleep, my heart feels torn to pieces that there are little ones out there with no Mom or Dad to bundle them up and protect them. Teenagers forced too soon to grow up out of survival; to fend for and provide for their now orphaned siblings.

I can not write anything else without first acknowledging the darkness.

We are called to be the hands and feet of the church. We don’t look away from darkness, we RUN TOWARDS IT and shine our light; scattering whatever darkness tried to settle in.

While I can’t be there in person, I can support those who are. Preemptive Love Coalition is helping thousands of families stay warm and fed. They are on the ground floor, face to face, with the people you and I can only read about.

Every day is a chance to GO BE THE CHURCH. Sometimes it looks like showing up physically, with our time and our person. And sometimes it looks like showing up with our resources.

Consider doing something about it. If not through Preemptive Love, then find something. The Compassion Collective (created out of “Together Rising” which is ran by Glennon Doyle Melton. Theology aside, she’s showing up to battle here) uses 100% of donations towards the Syrian refugee crisis. If you want more, Here’s a list of other ideas.

Don’t let your light sit inside the walls of your home. Take it out, let others see it, and scatter the darkness.

Have you ever pictured your future? Have you ever imagined specific moments that you might have?

This right here, is one of mine.

I have always loved to read. Trips to the library are a part of my favorite memories. I spent hours upon hours in the library, absorbing the stories and soaking up the smell. If you’ve never picked up an old book and smelled it, you don’t know what you’re missing.

But this moment right here, sharing something I love with someone I love, I have pictured thousands of times. My daughter is extra observant, just like her Daddy. She sits and stares at the pages, enthralled with the colors and the flipping of the pages. The moment the book opens, her eyes are locked. And my heart is full.

I always knew & believed that I would be a Mom, and I hoped that it would be like this. I am so grateful that I was able to brave the waters of loss and then get to embark on this new journey.

Whatever “hope” you have this season, if it is a hope that you have prayed for, a hope that you believe God has given you, don’t lose heart. He is a PERFECT Father, and what Dad promises a gift that he does not intend to give?

Pray. Petition. Knock down doors. But do not give up. The same God that rescued His people over and over is the same God who will rescue you.

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.”  – Exodus 14:13