Run The Race

My 7 year old son Reese recently landed a pretty sweet deal on an Xbox 360.  He had been saving for quite some time, and he was just a few dollars shy of being able to buy a used system plus 1 controller - not even enough money to buy any games just yet.  While at a friend's house a few weeks ago, a young TU student heard Reese discussing his saving efforts for the system.  The student told Reese that he recently got a newer style system, and never plays his Xbox 360 any longer.  In the end, he GAVE his Xbox, 3 controllers, and a few games to Reese.  To say that Reese was elated would be an understatement.  After receiving the system, every word that came out of Reese's mouth was about the game.  Questions, thoughts, dreams...  all about the game. Then, just after reading our Bible and saying our prayers one evening, my 7 year old said one of the most profound things. "Mom, sometimes when I have stuff that I really like, I don't even care ab...

This adoption journey has been long.  I have recently started reading "Jesus Calling" again (a devotional that encouraged me so much during my deepest moments of grief after losing Elliot and my Mother), and it really spoke to my heart this morning.  "Waiting, trusting and hoping are intricately connected, like golden strands interwoven to form a strong chain.  Trusting is the central strand... waiting and hoping embellish the central strand and strengthen the chain that connects [me] to [Jesus]... If [I] mouth the words 'I trust You' while anxiously trying to make things go [my] way, [my] words ring hollow." Waiting, trusting, hoping...  Nope, that is the wrong order for me.  Trust, hope, wait.  I don't have the courage to hope or wait without the trust.  I don't have the courage to long for HC without the trust.  The devastation would be too much if I had to rely on my own strength and control if things don't go "our way". ...