Things seem to be going at such an unbreakable pace with the issues of our children and our friends children that it almost seems overwhelming. I am feeling somewhat the same way as Kari in this post and Cindy in her post where you are unsettled because of the many issues. It isn’t necessarily the seriousness of each issue, because they range from mild to severe, but the impending assurance that there will be yet another crisis to deal with. It might happen the next time the phone rings, or the next time the door bell rings, or it might not happen until three weeks from now. But it is knowing that one will come, and not when, that keeps us from sleeping well or feeling at peace.
I want to take a moment though, to encourage those of you out there who are adoptive parents or planning to be, to find one other person or family out there who gets it. Preferably someone who is doing it. Reading blogs is great therapy, but we have never known, this summer, what it feels like to have the constant companionship of friends who get it AND live near us. I realize that good blogging involves not having cliques, and I’m sure that at times it appears that there is one on this blog between the people that I know personally. If this is the way it seems, I’m sorry. But it is only natural for people who know me to comment more frequently and I have been blessed to actually meet some of the people who first got to know me by reading my blog. I hope to meet many more of you.
But the purpose of this blog entry is to to communicate to you, if it is possible, the indescribable blessing of having daily contact by phone or in person with people who get it. I am referring specifically to Kari and her family because this summer we have invaded each others lives in a way that has made me finally believe that there is a qualitative difference in life between having such relationships and not having them. You are not surprised by this fact because I blog about them often.
But it goes beyond just post-adoption support. I believe that deep, interdependent relationships are what God has called us to as a body of Christ. Relationships that go beyond the casual, where we actually hurt when others hurt and rejoice when the rejoice to the SAME DEGREE as we would if it happened to us. To be able to pick up the phone two or three times a day and get instant understanding and compassion, to feel comfortable taking each others kids, helping out when needed, sharing talents, etc. should not just be reserved for those in our situation.
It’s called community. This website tells us that :
The origin of the word "community" comes from the Latin munus, which means the gift, and cum, which means together, among each other. So community literally means to give among each other.
Jesus told us that he wanted us to be one. And to live in Christian community is what it is really all about. 1 John 4:20 tells us, “For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”
So in order to truly love God, we must love one another and live in community with them. Long, unexpected sermon, I know, but I really wanted to take time to thank Mike and Kari and their kids for inviting us into their lives in every sense of the word and showing us what it means to be true followers of Christ, living in community. It is a gift that we often forget to express gratitude to them for, but not a day goes by that we don’t thank God for bringing them and all that they mean to us.
I want to take a moment though, to encourage those of you out there who are adoptive parents or planning to be, to find one other person or family out there who gets it. Preferably someone who is doing it. Reading blogs is great therapy, but we have never known, this summer, what it feels like to have the constant companionship of friends who get it AND live near us. I realize that good blogging involves not having cliques, and I’m sure that at times it appears that there is one on this blog between the people that I know personally. If this is the way it seems, I’m sorry. But it is only natural for people who know me to comment more frequently and I have been blessed to actually meet some of the people who first got to know me by reading my blog. I hope to meet many more of you.
But the purpose of this blog entry is to to communicate to you, if it is possible, the indescribable blessing of having daily contact by phone or in person with people who get it. I am referring specifically to Kari and her family because this summer we have invaded each others lives in a way that has made me finally believe that there is a qualitative difference in life between having such relationships and not having them. You are not surprised by this fact because I blog about them often.
But it goes beyond just post-adoption support. I believe that deep, interdependent relationships are what God has called us to as a body of Christ. Relationships that go beyond the casual, where we actually hurt when others hurt and rejoice when the rejoice to the SAME DEGREE as we would if it happened to us. To be able to pick up the phone two or three times a day and get instant understanding and compassion, to feel comfortable taking each others kids, helping out when needed, sharing talents, etc. should not just be reserved for those in our situation.
It’s called community. This website tells us that :
The origin of the word "community" comes from the Latin munus, which means the gift, and cum, which means together, among each other. So community literally means to give among each other.
Jesus told us that he wanted us to be one. And to live in Christian community is what it is really all about. 1 John 4:20 tells us, “For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”
So in order to truly love God, we must love one another and live in community with them. Long, unexpected sermon, I know, but I really wanted to take time to thank Mike and Kari and their kids for inviting us into their lives in every sense of the word and showing us what it means to be true followers of Christ, living in community. It is a gift that we often forget to express gratitude to them for, but not a day goes by that we don’t thank God for bringing them and all that they mean to us.
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