Life

As I thought of what I wanted to write today I was reminded of the words of a song done by Third Day. It's called "Give" and the song goes like this: You said all that follow you may find comfort and strength, blessings in hard times. All I want is love, I confess to this. I will take it Lord, all you have to give. It seems fitting to describe the Christian life in this way, this mix of sorrow and blessing. Lately I've had a dose of both. On the one hand I'm feeling a bit forgotten. Since our departure from Calvary we have heard from very few people, and in spite of letting our (former?) church family that we would love to get an e-mail or phone call (I'd even settle for a poke on Facebook!) it seems that we have fallen off the face of the earth. It kinda sucks, especially since I had high profile involvement with the church and was involved with a lot of people's lives. To add to matters I haven't heard from a certain friend in some time, having sent not one but two e-mails to say hi, how's it going, etc. I know people are busy, but you'd think that friendship is important enough to us to make the effort.

Now on the other hand I thank God for the people in my life who do make the time for me & Angel. We've been forging a relationship with a couple over the last year (the wife & I were co-workers) and there's a high level of intentionality with these guys. From little things like "writing on your wall" (that's one of the ways one connects with others on Facebook) to big things like being invited over for supper, the message we get is clear: you matter to us, and we like hanging out with you. And just this morning our friends Nathan & Dawn in Lithuania e-mailed us to say that they got our Christmas gift in the mail. We sent it early because of the notoriously inefficient postal service there (last year's gift arrived in February), and Nathan & Dawn show no pretense when it comes to their love and appreciation for us. Relationships like those make us rich with friendship.

Yet some people spend their whole lives protect themselves by keeping their emotions to themselves. This is the case for a dear friend of mine who has been a spiritual mom to me. She has Cancer, and I found out just yesterday that the surgery was not successful in removing all the tumors. Basically this means she is dying. So we spent a half hour on the phone, talking about life and death. I asked to be one of her pallbearers, which she replied "Of course you can!" She had so much to say and I was more than happy to use all those listening and counseling skills I've acquired over the years. She finally saw that without letting people into her life she had shriveled up on the inside. But it was at the end of the phone call, when I told her I love you (and she said likewise), that it hit me emotionally. When I hung up I began to cry, and I was so glad Angel was there to hold me.

We deal with death, but we also deal with life. A part of our lives that has come to life is the notion of starting a family. On Tuesday we met with a social worker and formally applied to become adoptive parents. This was the other cat I mentioned that we're now letting out of the bag. Angel & I left the meeting feeling so excited and encouraged by all the supports we learned that are in place for adoptive parents. The workers are with you every step of the way, even just to call you up to ask how you're doing. From counseling to medical benefits to a child care allowance, they bend over backwards to help make adopting succeed for the parents and children. The application process will be done some time early in the new year, and by this time next year our lives could be changed in a radical way. This is a good thing!

So, I guess with all the stuff life has thrown our way we can truly say that God gives us His love, and blesses us in hard times. I'll end off here with the words of Jesus, found in John 16:33. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."