Kindness is contagious. I read an exhortation online this morning: “Say something good about somebody. At least one person.” It reminded me about my job and why I got so much out of it. One’s patience, support, kindness, willingness to help others is rewarded ten fold, not even by the pay-it-forward act, but by what happens inside of you in the process. I had the privilege to see it in real time. And I believe.
Also, on the matter of faith. If I could only convey the richness in it…
If you discover something great, something so amazing, it’s really hard to keep it just for yourself (so I am sorry if you ever felt assaulted by overzealous people). As we navigate the big world, we learn to discern when and how much to share of the good news, and in what context. I learned to have patience to get to know people and love them. There is so much more to belief. There is trust in the midst of uncertainty. It is rest and peacefulness, the knowledge and the vivid memory of it when I don’t feel so confident. Through my family, church and upbringing I got to know God, and seeked to know more of him over time. My inquisitive mind made me challenge everything during my teenage days, but that grounded my faith even deeper. The freedom and joy I feel are deep and rich and the hardships are like the pinch of salt that makes the food taste better.
And if you were to be honest with yourself, let’s assume we don’t know for sure, would you rather live in a gloomy, deprived of hope world or would you take a chance and live with courage and the faith that there is a good God who created us and a better new world beyond this fallen one, without war, pain, sickness or death?
I received a gift this past month, a book called Adopted for life. It has already addressed so many of my unspoken concerns. It’s the gift of Acknowledge, Align & Assure. It shares about the process of commitment, bonding, love and discipline, addressing the assault of curiosity, mainly because so many of us have not been exposed to adoption. (Maybe all the repetitive sometimes thoughtless questions I have been asked over and over again these past seven years, have prepared me for another journey of questions and the grace one will have to show to the ignorance surrounding). Up until this week, the upcoming uphill bureaucratic journey was daunting, or the time it would take to push through, but as we prepare what we have control over now, I decided to not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Home study, paperwork, interviews – this experience is in God’s hand. We are committed to go through it in earnest, answering any and all questions truthfully and discerning.
As the time draws near for us to pickup the rest of our stuff and move, while we are roasted with bottled impatience, every day we get a glimpse of better understanding this waiting season. From slowly letting go of “here”, to making plans for “there”. Learning code, preparing tax documents, planning for the spring conference, building further business partnerships, branching out and laying out plans for a few projects.
A new era is about to begin, just as we both turned 30.