Sarah, here.
Two things came to mind as I was trying to come up with a name for our blog. Fourever Faithful: cute, sweet, defining what we hold dear; and Freak Show: encompassing how we feel and what the world thinks of us. Nick and I have been a freak show for about 3 years now. I’d say we became freaks when we brought three special needs kids into our home (in a rainbow of colors, I might add).
We became even bigger freaks when we were blessed to welcome a baby from our own loins and, *gasp* allowed the 3 foster children to stay with us even after he was born! “Your children have to be the priority,” they said. “How will you ever have time for all four of them?” “Have you considered the safety of our own child?” “This is just too much.” Well, I was just not sure I agreed with those statements. (P.S. Those precious kiddos moved on to an adoptive home after ours.)
Yeah, I get it... OF COURSE, our own children are our first thoughts… always! Do you think that was not the first thing that entered my mind when we felt like God wanted us to move to Uganda? That is our human nature. However, God calls us to fight against our human nature. I searched the Bible for a verse that said, ‘Take care of others, but only after your flesh-and-blood children are as comfortable and as happy as possible.’ Or, ‘as long as your own kids are in the best programs and have the best medical care and are financially in the top 1% of the world, go ahead and take care of some other kids that might need your help.” It’s not in there. In fact, the Bible doesn’t really talk much about comfort, happiness, or safety. These things are not Jesus’ priorities. He tells us:
Two things came to mind as I was trying to come up with a name for our blog. Fourever Faithful: cute, sweet, defining what we hold dear; and Freak Show: encompassing how we feel and what the world thinks of us. Nick and I have been a freak show for about 3 years now. I’d say we became freaks when we brought three special needs kids into our home (in a rainbow of colors, I might add).
We became even bigger freaks when we were blessed to welcome a baby from our own loins and, *gasp* allowed the 3 foster children to stay with us even after he was born! “Your children have to be the priority,” they said. “How will you ever have time for all four of them?” “Have you considered the safety of our own child?” “This is just too much.” Well, I was just not sure I agreed with those statements. (P.S. Those precious kiddos moved on to an adoptive home after ours.)
Yeah, I get it... OF COURSE, our own children are our first thoughts… always! Do you think that was not the first thing that entered my mind when we felt like God wanted us to move to Uganda? That is our human nature. However, God calls us to fight against our human nature. I searched the Bible for a verse that said, ‘Take care of others, but only after your flesh-and-blood children are as comfortable and as happy as possible.’ Or, ‘as long as your own kids are in the best programs and have the best medical care and are financially in the top 1% of the world, go ahead and take care of some other kids that might need your help.” It’s not in there. In fact, the Bible doesn’t really talk much about comfort, happiness, or safety. These things are not Jesus’ priorities. He tells us:
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:35-40
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13
Not only are we to love others, but we are to love them as if they were part of our own family! There are far too many verses to list that command us to put others above ourselves. But perhaps even more important than those, God tells us to follow Him. To do what He says to do. To OBEY. That is what we are doing.
Look, this was not our plan. Does ‘Move to some country we’ve barely heard of, with some people we hardly know, and quit our awesome jobs sound like a Nick & Sarah plan? We are not adventure-seekers. We are not risk-takers. We are not money-spenders. We are people who love to stay home, play games, eat good food, go for walks with our kids, and hang out at church. But we are also people who obey God.
Look, this was not our plan. Does ‘Move to some country we’ve barely heard of, with some people we hardly know, and quit our awesome jobs sound like a Nick & Sarah plan? We are not adventure-seekers. We are not risk-takers. We are not money-spenders. We are people who love to stay home, play games, eat good food, go for walks with our kids, and hang out at church. But we are also people who obey God.
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