"Preach the Gospel always. If necessary, use words."
That's attributed to St. Francis, and truer now than ever before.
Most people today have heard the Good News. But they don't believe it. You cannot imagine how many people have revealed to me that they see no evidence of Christ, and that they are sick and tired of people who are "mean Christians." The ones who quoted Scripture at them as they screamed at them, or went to church every Sunday and then said horrible things about them during the week, or dated them and told them how sinful they were and not "up to their standards."
"Why would I go to church to be treated that way?" one lady told me. "I can get that anywhere, anytime. And usually the other people are nicer."
It is the way we love each other and care for each other that will convince people that Christ is real, and that there truly is Good News for them. When we look out for our neighbor (and by neighbor, I mean everyone besides us), and treat all people with kindness and respect. Then, people will be asking us why we are different.
My friend Alena preaches the Gospel with her life. She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met, and she radiates kindness and joy. In fact, she signs her emails to me with "Joy!" :-) When people find out that she has fostered over 160 special needs children, they gasp and go, "Why? HOW?"
This is her story.
My daughter was born with a medical condition that forced us to be in
the hospital repeatedly for weeks at a time. During these stays we met a
little girl, Latoya, that had been abandoned in the hospital since
birth. She had a medical condition that required her to be hooked to a
feeding machine 24 hours a day.
During one of our hospitalizations we
were told that Latoya's condition had worsened and she was not going to
survive. It was at that point God started speaking to me to take this
little girl home with us. I knew God had mistaken me for someone else, as
I already had three daughters myself (ages 1, 3, and 5).
I tried to
convince God that it wasn't me He wanted and yet I continued to hear God
telling me to take her home. After a while I couldn't even sleep at
night, because all I could think about were reasons why I couldn't take her
home.
Finally, I couldn't take it any more and I told God that if He
really wanted me to do this He was going to have to make it very clear
to me. At that point I did what I always do when I need answers--I
picked up my Bible. But this time instead of following my normal Bible
reading schedule, I dropped my Bible on the hospital bed and picked it
back up and started reading the page it opened to.
I started reading
the first chapter of James. I thought I was home safe until I got down
to verse 27. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless
is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress....".
I could no
longer could run from His call. What I didn't know was that it was a call
not only for this situation, but a call on my life. Within 2 months I
had learned how to care for Latoya and had her home with us. Since that point I
have fostered over 160 foster kids with special needs, and our family now
is blessed with 15 kids through adoption. Their disabilities vary. Some
are blind, some are deaf, some are autistic, some developmentally
delayed, but all of them are a vital part of my family.
I have no
special talents or abilities to be able to do this. Every bit of energy,
strength, or wisdom it has required to take care of these special kids
has been a gift from the Lord. I can say without any doubt that what
God calls you to do, He enables you to do. With thousands of children
waiting for permanent homes, I am sure God is calling others to this
mission field. Maybe even you!
Alena Strickland
In Their Defense
"Defend the rights of the fatherless. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves." Psalm 82:3, Prov.31:8
Alena, thank you for everything you do and everything you are.
Maybe you've thought about adopting or fostering? Or maybe you would like to find out how you could help support a family (buying an extra package of diapers, offering to babysit, etc.) that has made this commitment? You can email Alena at intheirdefense@gmail.com.
Have a wonderful weekend!
