Our family is on a journey. It is definitely an uncertain one. We don’t know the path we will have to take, we don’t know how we are going to get there and we don’t know where we will ultimately end up. I wonder if it’s anything like how Abraham felt when he was called to leave Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. He only knew he was called to go…he didn’t exactly get a roadmap from God, a step-by-step list of instructions. He wasn’t given many details. He was just told to go and he obeyed. Our family is obeying the orders we have received…we are taking the steps necessary to become foster parents. We know what we want, what we would have happen and what we would like the end result to be. However, we also need to understand that God may have something totally different in mind.
So far the start to this journey has been an interesting one. Not only are we learning things about our family (for instance, how incredibly selfless our children are) but we are also learning things about others (their support or lack of support). For the most part, we have tons of support. We have people cheering us on, offering help in one way or another. But I have also received a couple of comments that weren’t outright negative; however, both of them contained a word that I can’t seem to shake from my mind…busy.
Both comments had something to do with the fact that weren’t we busy enough…again, not outright negative comments but the fact that I heard something similar from two people has gotten me really thinking.
If someone were to ask that of me…aren’t you busy enough? I would most definitely agree! As with any family, yes, we are busy. We have three children who are involved in various activities. My husband and I have activities either together or apart that keep us busy. We both work. We are involved in church and ministry. We are most definitely very busy people. But the bigger question is—does that mean we are so busy we don’t have time to do God’s bidding?
I wonder how many people fail to do what they have been called to do simply because they thought they were too busy. I don’t know too many people who can say that they don’t lead busy lives. However, does busyness give us an excuse to cast aside the needs of others?
If we end up with the two little ones we are seeking to be foster parents for, it will require some change in our lifestyle. Some things will remain the same…however, many things will change. We are at a point in our life when we can finally just get up and go somewhere—we don’t need babysitters. Our children are old enough to stay home. When we go somewhere with them, we don’t have to pack a diaper bag, a sippy cup and a bag of snacks. They can take their own showers, they can get dressed themselves—they can even cook for themselves. So to go from that point in our life to one where now we need to drag diaper bags, sippy cups, snacks, have children in bed by 8:00, rearrange our plans, and give baths—well yes, it is most definitely going to require some sacrifice. But isn’t that what we are called to do as believers?
To sacrifice is to surrender something for the sake of something else—it is giving up. It is letting go. It is not easy…believe me! I anguished over this decision in the beginning. At first I wasn’t so willing to take on a responsibility that I wasn’t ready for. I am enjoying my life and the stage that I am at right now. I am especially enjoying my children and their ages—yes, even with having a teen and a preteen—I truly am enjoying it. So to change things…to give up my freedom is not easy. Yet…I know that to not do it is to miss out on a great blessing.
Is your busyness preventing you from sacrificing? There are moments in our life when we become so comfortable that God has to do something to shake things up. He wants us to sit up and take notice—He has something more for us but in order to get that more, we have to be willing to give something up. What is He calling you to give up?
When you finally obey…when you finally choose to take the path He calls you to, even if you don’t know the way, He will give you confirmation that it was the right thing. It happened to me one morning when I received my morning scripture verse from my favorite radio station, K-Love. It said:
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
~ Ephesians 1:5, NLT
Don’t let the unknown journey before you scare you from taking that first step. It’s once you take the first step, that the next becomes easier. You can know that you are not walking it alone—you have the very One who called you, to walk beside you and if need be, in front of you.
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