The Heart of the Matter

To ALL mothers!  Everywhere.  But especially to my very own mother…the one who couldn’t tell me to “run along home,” when she grew tired of me.  The one who put up with my fears and tears throughout the years.  The one who was volunteered to bake pies and make lasagna when she least expected it.  The one who opened the front door when I invited my 2^nd grade class to “Come see the baby!”  The one who secretly watched my sporting events from afar because I was too shy to have anyone I knew watch me play.  The one who laughed as hard as we did at our jokes…that weren’t even funny.  The one who brewed one more pot of coffee when I pulled all-nighters to finish school papers.  The one who explained that the ugly words that we heard others say was simply a sign of a “limited vocabulary,” and would not be tolerated in our home.  The one who applauded, encouraged, questioned.  The one who moved in for a week when her first grandchildren (twins!) were born -- and washed all the windows!  The one who showed us what marriage should look like.  The one who loved her own mother.  The one who loved being a mother and then a grandmother.

And to all my surrogate mothers:  Aunt Wanda.  Aunt Mary.  Kathryn.  Mrs. Bickart.  Star(s).  Thank you for being available to me.  Thank you for your care.

But, Mom, you had the day-to-day grind.  Thanks for loving me unconditionally.  And though you are weaker physically, your mind is still as “tarp as a shack!”  (At least during the first half of the day…)  We look forward to making many more memories with you.  Think about how you want your grandchildren, not to mention your children and friends, to remember you in these later years…and live accordingly!  You still have much to teach us.  Press on!  Be YOU!  

You are loved.

Jim and I are reading an awesome book by George Grant entitled The Micah Mandate...balancing the Christian life.

From yesterday's reading:  "In 1917, when American troops were preparing to sail across the seas in order to take to the battlefields of France and Belgium in the First World War, the New York Bible Society asked former president Theodore Roosevelt to inscribe a message in the pocket New Testaments that each of the soldiers would be given.  The great man happily complied.  And he began by quoting Micah's striking triune call for Biblical balance -- what he called the 'Micah Mandate.'

In his brief message to the soldiers, he explained:  Do justice; and therefore fight valiantly against those that stand for the reign of Moloch and Beelzebub on this earth.  Love mercy; treat your enemies well; succor the afflicted; treat every woman as if she were your sister; care for the little children; and be tender with the old and helpless.  Walk humbly; you will do so if you study the life and teachings of the Savior, walking in His steps.

He concluded, saying:  Remember:  the most perfect machinery of government will not keep us as a nation from destruction if there is not within us a soul.  No abounding of material prosperity shall avail us if our spiritual senses atrophy.  The foes of our own household will surely prevail against us unless there be in our people an inner life which finds its outward expression in a morality like unto that preached by the seers and prophets of God when the grandeur that was Greece and the glory that was Rome still lay in the future.

Roosevelt believed that the ultimate security of men and nations depended on a faithful adherence to Micah's threefold demonstration of true Biblical balance:  a strident commitment to justice, a practical concern for mercy, and a reverent humility before almighty God.  He was certain that even with the deployment of superior forces in superior numbers with superior armaments, the American armies would ultimately be defeated during the war -- if they took to the field bereft of this kind of spiritual integrity.  And he was convinced that if we as individuals and families take only our limited material resources into the conflagration of our daily warfare, we, too, will be defeated and destroyed."

He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?   To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.  (Micah 6:8)

Paper blogs.  Some people might call them scrapbooks.  A way to record everyday happenings as well as the big moments.  A chronicle of one’s life.  Highlights.  Low points.  Friends.  Teachers.  Neighborhoods.  Family.  Anything.  Everything.

It dawned on me one day that some of my favorite children have NO ONE recording their lives.  I went online and checked out some scrapbooking sites and was amazed at the creativity out there!  And I concluded that I am going to attempt to make books for the orphans.

A few of these children may be adopted and I will gladly present the books to the new parents.  But being HIV/AIDS+, most of these children will grow up, leave the orphanage, and have no reminder of their childhoods.

What an opportunity!  The children and caretakers alike will see that even though these kiddos have been abandoned by earthly parents, they are still worthy of care and time!  Their thoughts are worth writing down.  Their pictures are worth organizing.  And in the process they will learn about their Heavenly Father who sent an advocate their way…as an ambassador of THE Advocate.

What a privilege!

If anyone wants to join in this mission, come on!  Spend a week or two in Kyiv.  Their lives need to be journalled, and YOUR life will never be the same.

Trust me.

  I went to the orphanage the other day and was able to spend some time INSIDE with the children.  While I was tickling the younger children, Nadia (the oldest of the AIDS orphans in this facility) pulled a book off of the shelf to look at with Yura, Jim's assistant.  Like any child, Nadia craves undivided attention and is not adjusting well to so many children in the group.  There was a time that SHE was the young child that everyone came to see.  Now she is older and there are many more children.

So THIS day was very special for her.  She grabbed the book so that Yura would notice her.  She flipped the pages quickly looking for just the right page in her Bible book.  When Yura asked her what she was doing, she answered, "I'm looking for God."

Pray for Nadia that she'll find Him.  Yura said she asked lots of questions about Jesus...he is going to write down what he remembers of her questions and his answers.  Stay tuned...