Today I'm celebrating three things that make me weepy proud and inspire me daily:
1. The Preemptive Love Coalition. Started by Jessica, a fellow Academy of Freedom student, and her husband, Jeremy, the Preemptive Love Coalition reaches out to Arab and Kurdish children in Iraq who desperately need life-saving heart surgeries. According to the PLC, "experts think that Saddam Hussein’s 281 chemical attacks and experiments on the Kurds of northern Iraq contribute to the high rate of life-threatening heart disease among children in the region today." Unwilling to sit by, Jessica, Jeremy and their team network with compassionate givers and willing doctors to get these precious children the medical attention they desperately need, spreading hope and love to a largely unreached population.
Let's help. Can we? I know things are tough right now, but do y'all think we could pull together and see that one of these precious kids gets her heart surgery? It would take 300 of us giving a quick $10 to make it happen. Tell you what, visit Preemptive Love Coalition's site, poke around and then think about it. If you're lead to help give $10 or more, do so and let me know. I want to send you a HouseHelper as a way of saying thanks, even if I have to knit 300 of them. :)
2. Lily White Designs. These girls are passionate about creating but - even more - are passionate about sharing their faith. Having run into one of their customers in a hot dog line in Kansas City last week, I contacted Abbie and Jordan and begged for a custom tote. Can't wait to show you. These girls are awesome. Stop by and encourage them, would you?
3. Misty Edwards. It's ridiculous now, but before I "met" Misty and her music, I thought I was the only one. I thought I was the only Christian who stared into the starry night sky and demanded of God: why? Why, God, is there so much suffering? Why do cancer cells spread and checks bounce and children starve and hurricanes strike and men abuse their wives? Why do we get up and do this every day? What's the point of all this? What's the point of life? At some point during the day, almost every day, I listen to Misty's song Point of Life (you can hear some of the song here) and I remember. And it comforts me.
Thanking Jesus today for the people He's raised up everywhere... walking His walk, talking His talk, and bringing His love and His beautiful heart to those who haven't met Him yet and need a bit of Him now. You guys inspire me and make me proud to be a believer. -Brin
Brin - if there was any day for me to read this post, today was it. I have been wondering what the point of life is - the happiness, then the sadness, the good, the bad. I have just been questioning are we just waiting for the next thing to happen. When are we there, when do we stop waiting?
ReplyDeleteSo glad I read across your post today. I too have been asking why lately, but I so know in my heart that God is good all the time.
ReplyDeleteBlessings~
Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteI suppose the answer to your question depends on who you're asking. But I'll tell you mine. I am fully persuaded that the waiting and the questions in my mind will continue in some form until I see THE ANSWER face to face. Until then, I trust.
See, several years ago I started asking the hard questions: why do we hurt? Why is there evil? Why did family members die? Why is my friend sick? What's the point of life if all it is is a day-to-day battle against sadness, bewilderment or despair? And I've come to believe that there are desperate and hurting people out there who do terrible things... to themselves, to each other, to children and Army posts and people groups and entire nations... in an attempt to fight their own demons, prove themselves worthy, settle a deep hurt or injustice, or set their situation right. But it doesn't work. It never works. Even the best among us struggle, fail, wonder and die.
Enter Jesus. WHO is He? Ask a million people and you'll get a million answers. But, again, I am fully persuaded that Jesus is my answer. I think He's yours, too. 1 John 3:16 - one of my favorite verses in the Bible - says: "This is HOW WE KNOW WHAT LOVE IS: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us." I know of no greater proof of love than to die for - or in place of - someone who means the world to you. And that's what Jesus did for us. You and I mean the WORLD to Him. I believe that Jesus is fully God and fully man - somehow - and He loves you and He loves me enough to come down to and pay the price for all our sins and failures and rebellion so, because of Him, we can stand right before God. Even as failures, sinners and doubters. I believe Jesus healed sick people, fed hungry people, delivered hurting people, set captives free. And I believe He still does. In fact, instead of asking "why is there so much HURT in this world?", the closer I come to know Jesus the more I ask, "How could You have so much LOVE for this world?". Because He does.
I'm not alone in my belief. The few people in this post are also people who can attest that what I'm saying has been proven in their own lives, too. We could tell you a thousand stories of how His love has made the difference in our lives. I could bore you even more than I am now. But what I hold onto... even in waiting and questioning... is this: I did not write this story. This is Jesus' story - the story of God's love for His creation - and the only page I have is this one. I'm only reading one page out of the story's thousand pages. I'm coming into this movie in the middle and leaving after thirty seconds. Of course it doesn't make sense to me. Of course I can't explain it all. There's still the rest of the story to read. And we're not even to the good part of God's eternal movie.
I have enough to hold onto until I see the end, though: Jesus' love will keep me while I wait and guide me as I question. It sounds inconceivable, but it's true. And somehow my heart is joyful and satisfied with that.
I'll pray for you as navigate your own story. And if there's anything I can do in the meantime, I'm here.
Brin
Brin,
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see you blogging regularly again. We missed you. Hope everything is going better for you and do update us about sweet Millie.
Bravo! :)
ReplyDeleteI also love Kim Walker's Music. Sweet to my soul...
H.
I think we also need to remember that these questions come from a place where we assume we are good, that humanity is good, just by existing; that we don't deserve hardships. The fact is, we're living off grace, and like Brin, I try hard instead to see the grace and love offered to us through Jesus. I know I am a sinner by nature, by BIRTH, because of what my ancestors chose to do at the very beginning (Adam & Eve). God gave them the choice. They chose to live a life apart from God. Then they had to live with the consequences of choosing that. Death. Suffering. Disease. BUT, God decided to give us a way to get back to Him, through Jesus. And I've learned to see the sacrifice made for ME by God, and how much I must mean to him. Everyone asks "why?", sometimes even knowing the answers (especially recently during 2009). But if we come from the starting point of seeing that we're not good because of our own merits, we need Him from day 1, then those questions make more sense. We're no longer living in a perfect world - we're living in a fallen world, the one Adam and Eve chose for us. God also tells us how hardships are important for us to grow, and put our trust in Him. Sometimes we don't see the lessons, or feel His guiding hand right away, but in everything, God works for the GOOD of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
ReplyDeleteThank you for inspiring me, Brin!
ReplyDelete