No tags yet.
I met one of my best friends when she asked me how long it took me to get over the fact that I couldn't carry babies. I laughed--and then I explained myself. Infertility was the way God revealed part of His purpose for me--and for Randy. We were called to adopt. However, everytime you have a reason for grief, that grief really becomes part of what makes you the person you are. It doesn't really go away; it turns into something else. That something can be a blessing as it is in our case, or we also have the choice to allow it to turn into bitterness.
I shared about our miscarriages yesterday. I'm really excited about what we do with that. We have one name. Eight children--but one name for all of them--Emma Grace. I was curious about what that name meant at one point and why it means so much to me, so I looked up the meaning for Emma. Emma means 'all of'.
I love Christmas, and we have shopped for 'Emma' ever since we sorted all that information out--it takes a little while. We used to do Samaritan's purse shoe boxes, but now we've adopted again--from World Vision. Her name is Shikur. She is from Ethiopia. She is 11.
She is a beautiful girl! God is giving us an opportunity to invest in her life as well as the lives of her other family members. Her name means, "Thankful to God." I love that. It's a great response to "All of Grace".
If we comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God, that's when grief (in my opinion) develops positive meaning. If we move forward with this instead of hanging ourselves in grief (where bitterness lives), then life can be truly rich, and we can grow deeper and deeper in relationship with God.
Soon I'll be hearing from Shikur, and she will hear from me. I hope this brings her hope. I hope that the furrow in her brow will decrease and she can learn to smile. I also hope that she will learn to strengthen others in the way that God will strengthen her.
If you would like more information about World Vision, go here: www.worldvision.org