{every.life.matters.}

it was april 8, 1988.

i remember it so vividly.

a boy in my math class wasn't there. i had no idea the day before was the LAST time i would see him.

you see, he killed himself.

carbon monoxide poisoning.

i didn't know him more than an acquaintance. i may have joked with him in class a time or two.

but somehow that life that he so abruptly cut short has impacted me in ways i would have never guessed.

EVERY SINGLE YEAR without fail, i think of him on april 8th.

and i pray for his mother.

i have no idea who she is, but i am 100% sure that she is thinking of her son that day.

i wonder, does she wonder if anyone remembers him?

i do.


{every.life.matters.}

*     *     *     *    *
it was early sunday morning october 28, 2012.

i couldn't sleep.

i breezed through Facebook friends' updates on my phone.

then i saw it.

a post that stopped my heart.

another boy in my high school--although now we are 40--is in a very bad, bad place.

he's hurting.

he's calling out for help.

he says a form of goodbye on Facebook.

but thankfully THANKFULLY THANKFULLY people intervene.

they call the police to go check on him.

the police arrive.

they stop him.

he lives.

he posts an apology on Facebook and declares that he knows he will be sad again, but now he knows people care about him.

my heart shatters into a million pieces.

i knew this man. we played in the band together. he knows my name. i know his. we talked at our last high school reunion.

but...

how do we know when others hurt?

how often do we wear masks and quip, "I'm great!" when asked how we are?

my heart is truly broken for this friend of mine.

he is still hurting.

still needing love, genuine care and people to stand in his life and shout:

YOU MATTER!!!

i've been in communication with my friend each day doing what I know to give him encouragement and hope.

i've been praying fervently for his heart.

for his soul.

for his understanding that HE MATTERS in the grand scheme of things.

please, pray for my friend. you don't need his name, God will know.


{every.life.matters.}

*     *     *     *    *

a woman discovers she's pregnant yet AGAIN.

they have no money.

she's working two jobs and still aren't making ends meet.

six kids at home cry.

she wonders what she will do.

how will she carry on?

she decides to look into ending her pregnancy.

it's in her best interest, afterall.

what if...

what if she found someone who was willing to parent her baby?

would she choose to give her baby life?

yes.

this time, a life is saved.

thanks to an amazing godly couple who enter the adoption arena wanting a baby...and are open to a child of a different race.

this mom is given hope.

this baby lives.

{every.life.matters.}




This happens to be election day when I'm posting this. I absolutely vote for LIFE. But this post is about so much more than the abortion issue. This is about understanding that each life has a story, an impact and a value that is so far beyond what we can comprehend. We have no way to understand the intricate weavings of lives that God creates. We are a people created to be in community with others. We must stand for life. But when we do, we must also stand for adoption. We must care deeply about others. We must really listen when we ask an acquaintance "how are you?" for they might NOT be doing well. We must care, cry and bleed with our fellow man and help them along the road to wholeness. We must work at preserving life on all levels--not just the babies, but the people who have lived their lives and are waiting to die. Every day matters. Every heart created has been made to know his/her Creator. The journey through life allows many experiences. Will we help others find wholeness? Will we stand up for life when it matters? Will we intervene in another's life even when it's uncomfortable and inconvenient for us? Will we give up our own "right" to comfort and take in a life if it means preserving it from abortion? Will we stand for life, in all ways?

Proverbs 3:27
"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act."

Proverbs 31:8
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed."

Ephesians 4:29
"Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them."

Desperate for God's power in my life

Today, as is fitting this time of year, we heard about Mary. Our pastor brought us to consider why God chose her, what attributes marked her character that she would be chosen for such a holy task. I marvel at the amazing woman she was already at age 12 or 14. She was indeed a courageous soul, willing to accept this never-before-been-done job of hosting the Son of God in her womb...and then ALL that would come after. I am marveling over how she didn't give voice to her fears. Now that's where she and I are unalike, I process aloud while Mary "ponders these things in her heart."

I wonder though, did she concern herself with all the "How will I...?" that fill my own heart? As I consider all that must take place to adopt two children into our family I cannot help wonder how it will work. I find myself falling short now and wonder how it is that God has called us to serve the needs of orphans in this all consuming, most permanent way. As is typical for me, I jubilantly jump at the Lord's command--so ready to obey and as I am obeying then I realize all the implications. It's not that I want a way out or to change anything He's asked me to do, but I find myself wondering, "How can I....?" and the blank gets filled in with my shortcomings.

I have always loved Mary's response to the angel after he announces the life altering news that she will become pregnant with God's Son. "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever He wants. May everything you have said come true." (Luke 1:38, NLT) Wow. Who answers like that? Well, sometimes I do. And then as I'm in the process of that obedience I get overcome by all my insufficiencies.

Here's the thing: we love to hear about miracles. We may or may not think that it's possible to experience today the huge kind of miracles that we read about in Scripture. I think we can. But the kicker is, in order to experience an incredible miracle, we have to be in need of a miracle. And most of us are not willing to go there. Who wants to be in such a desperate situation? Today I find myself there.

I'm reading the book Radical, by David Platt. I highly recommend it to you. He says in it, "This is how God works. He puts His people in positions where they are desperate for His power, and then He shows His provision in ways that display His greatness." Am I feeling desperate for God? Yes. Then I am where I want to be (but it doesn't feel good). Now I just wait for Him to show up.

So l know He'll come through so I do my best in each situation and I wait. But the waiting is hard as the evil one prowls around reminding me of the shortcomings, the desperateness for which I NEED that miracle of God. "Those God calls He equips," one might comfort me. Sure, I know that. Indeed, one of my favorite Scriptures is I Thessalonians 5:24, "He who calls you is faithful and He will do it." We need to be careful though, what will He do? Usually it's not what I'm panicking over! Verse 23 says, "Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again." He's going to make me holy in every way???!?! YES! If that weren't enough, He is going to keep my whole self (spirit, soul and body) blameless until the world ends. Wow. That's incredible. In fact, what He's going to do is MORE than what I was worrying over. And isn't that just like Him?

One final quote from Radical, "God delights in using ordinary Christians who come to the end of themselves and choose to trust in His extraordinary provision. He stands ready to allocate His power to all who are radically dependent on Him and radically devoted to making much of Him." So I sit here in my desperate assessment of myself and find myself lacking--and guess what? That's okay! I'm in a great position to host the power of God in my life! And that, my friends, is just what it's going to take!!