I just found out this past week that our good friends from North Carolina (originally from Africa) may not get to come back to Nebraska because of the budget cuts at UNL. In fact, they said right now they are just hoping to stay in the U.S. Boy did that ever take some wind out of my sail. Right after we got the news, Leonard and I were eating lunch in our break room. Leonard sat there with a thoughtful look on his face, then said, "This is why we have trouble trusting God."
We talk about that a lot in Small Group. God has proven himself time after time after time to be faithful, loving, and kind. He knows exactly what He's doing. Why do we have such a hard time trusting? And this was a prime example. Since the day our friends sat on our porch in 2004 and broke the news to us they were leaving for North Carolina, we have been anxiously awaiting their return. Through many tears we said our good-byes, knowing the hope that they would be back again would be what sustained us. Lincoln, Nebraska is where they belong. We have become family.
And just like that it feels like all our dreams have been shattered.
Emphasis on "feels like". I have to remind myself that over and over again God comes through. How many times have I had to look back and say, "Well, God, I wouldn't have gotten so worked up about it if I'd have known you were going to work everything out like that." We love these friends deeply. But I know God loves them more. And I know He's paying close attention to what is happening in their lives. And He cares very deeply about the outcome. I know they will be okay because they have a very powerful and loving God on their side. It really doesn't make the ache in my heart go away, but what I want more than anything else for them is the very best God has to give. And He is the only one who knows how to do that. So we're right back to it. Trust. Learning to trust. Learning to believe He is paying close attention. Learning to believe He really cares.
I wonder why it's so hard to believe our lives matter so much to Him. That will be a whole new Small Group topic.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Illegal Immigration
Okay, I've talked myself out of it for a really long time. But now I'm going to take the plunge. I'm going to talk about the sizzling hot topic of Illegal Immigration. And I'm not going to take the popular stance.
I guess I should start off by saying that certainly I don't keep up on all the economic implications and I can't spout off statistics as many can. But I can say I've seen impressive statistics to support whichever side of the debate you choose to be on. That's something that has always amazed me... how you can find statistics to back up whatever you want to believe. I read a quote once that said people generally don't form opinions based on the facts, they look for facts to support the opinions they already have. And this is definitely one of those areas where you see people doing that. Any fact presented that supports their opinion, they hold on to. If it doesn't, they send it on its way.
My opinion on this matter has never changed, but it has become a lot more passionate since I now have a son-in-law who is an illegal immigrant. Before you all fall off your chairs, we have filed all the papers to try to get him on the road to becoming legal. But it pains me along the way to have to read and hear such hateful things being said about illegal immigrants, and him.
The people spewing hatred... they have never met Aaron. But would it matter? Would it matter to them that he came here when he was 16 years old, alone and afraid, in order to be able to work hard and send money to support his mother and sisters? He gave up life as he knew it and came into a country where he couldn't even speak the language. He worked hard to learn the language, and he went through things that most of us would be unwilling to go through. Yet we let our pampered selves sit back and judge these people for attempting to live a better life. How dare they? This isn't their lot in life. It's not their place to live as well as we do.
And what is it we did to deserve our good life? We were lucky enough to be born here. I wonder how many of these people that are so worried about their tax money would change their tune if they were born into REAL poverty.
Now, I don't have my head buried in the sand. I know that not every illegal immigrant that enters our country comes with good intentions. I know there are some who come to deal drugs or to live off welfare. But I personally know of a lot of them who DID NOT come for that reason. Because I know this, I think it's crazy to try to come up with one blanket solution that will fit all illegal immigrants. If they get convicted for dealing drugs... ship them out of here! There's no need to tolerate such things. But if they have come to try to build a better life, who are we to take it away from them? That goes against everything I believe in.
I've heard it said many times that if they want to come over here, they should do it legally. I'm sure it would be much nicer for them if they could. But the truth is, most of them can't. If they don't sneak over here, they won't be allowed to come here at all.
About 3 years ago, one of these illegal immigrants met my daughter, and they are now married and have two beautiful children. When my daughters were young, Leonard & I tried to sell them on the idea of letting us pick out their spouses. Of course, they didn't go for it. But I can tell you if we had searched the world over for the perfect husband for Rachel, we could not have found a better man than Aaron. He is a hard worker, a loving father, and a kind and gentle husband. (Funny, too... that's important in our family!) We love Aaron as if he is our very own son. And it hurts my heart to hear all the terrible things being said about him just because he isn't here legally.
Aaron makes good enough money to take care of the family, but he does not have insurance available to him. Under any other circumstance, I would tell Rachel to get the kids on Medicaid until they can get insurance... just in case something bad happens. But instead, they are living without insurance because we don't want to feed the scorn of the people who think illegal immigrants are costing them money. Of course, the kids are citizens, as is Rachel. But people already have their biases and I don't think it would matter. If they could lump Aaron and Rachel into their statistics and make them fit into the opinion they already have, they would do it. So we do what we can to pay the doctor bills without insurance, and pray that nothing serious happens along the way.
I guess I write all this just to say, I don't get it. I don't understand how we can be so hateful to a whole group of people. I don't understand how we can be so worried about our money being used to benefit others, especially when we live in one of the wealthiest nations in the world. I don't understand being selfish and greedy.
I just want the whole world to meet Aaron. Because I think knowing him would warm a lot of cold hearts.
I guess I should start off by saying that certainly I don't keep up on all the economic implications and I can't spout off statistics as many can. But I can say I've seen impressive statistics to support whichever side of the debate you choose to be on. That's something that has always amazed me... how you can find statistics to back up whatever you want to believe. I read a quote once that said people generally don't form opinions based on the facts, they look for facts to support the opinions they already have. And this is definitely one of those areas where you see people doing that. Any fact presented that supports their opinion, they hold on to. If it doesn't, they send it on its way.
My opinion on this matter has never changed, but it has become a lot more passionate since I now have a son-in-law who is an illegal immigrant. Before you all fall off your chairs, we have filed all the papers to try to get him on the road to becoming legal. But it pains me along the way to have to read and hear such hateful things being said about illegal immigrants, and him.
The people spewing hatred... they have never met Aaron. But would it matter? Would it matter to them that he came here when he was 16 years old, alone and afraid, in order to be able to work hard and send money to support his mother and sisters? He gave up life as he knew it and came into a country where he couldn't even speak the language. He worked hard to learn the language, and he went through things that most of us would be unwilling to go through. Yet we let our pampered selves sit back and judge these people for attempting to live a better life. How dare they? This isn't their lot in life. It's not their place to live as well as we do.
And what is it we did to deserve our good life? We were lucky enough to be born here. I wonder how many of these people that are so worried about their tax money would change their tune if they were born into REAL poverty.
Now, I don't have my head buried in the sand. I know that not every illegal immigrant that enters our country comes with good intentions. I know there are some who come to deal drugs or to live off welfare. But I personally know of a lot of them who DID NOT come for that reason. Because I know this, I think it's crazy to try to come up with one blanket solution that will fit all illegal immigrants. If they get convicted for dealing drugs... ship them out of here! There's no need to tolerate such things. But if they have come to try to build a better life, who are we to take it away from them? That goes against everything I believe in.
I've heard it said many times that if they want to come over here, they should do it legally. I'm sure it would be much nicer for them if they could. But the truth is, most of them can't. If they don't sneak over here, they won't be allowed to come here at all.
About 3 years ago, one of these illegal immigrants met my daughter, and they are now married and have two beautiful children. When my daughters were young, Leonard & I tried to sell them on the idea of letting us pick out their spouses. Of course, they didn't go for it. But I can tell you if we had searched the world over for the perfect husband for Rachel, we could not have found a better man than Aaron. He is a hard worker, a loving father, and a kind and gentle husband. (Funny, too... that's important in our family!) We love Aaron as if he is our very own son. And it hurts my heart to hear all the terrible things being said about him just because he isn't here legally.
Aaron makes good enough money to take care of the family, but he does not have insurance available to him. Under any other circumstance, I would tell Rachel to get the kids on Medicaid until they can get insurance... just in case something bad happens. But instead, they are living without insurance because we don't want to feed the scorn of the people who think illegal immigrants are costing them money. Of course, the kids are citizens, as is Rachel. But people already have their biases and I don't think it would matter. If they could lump Aaron and Rachel into their statistics and make them fit into the opinion they already have, they would do it. So we do what we can to pay the doctor bills without insurance, and pray that nothing serious happens along the way.
I guess I write all this just to say, I don't get it. I don't understand how we can be so hateful to a whole group of people. I don't understand how we can be so worried about our money being used to benefit others, especially when we live in one of the wealthiest nations in the world. I don't understand being selfish and greedy.
I just want the whole world to meet Aaron. Because I think knowing him would warm a lot of cold hearts.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
And my 2nd post is dedicated to....
I don't generally do 2 posts in one day, but I know you guys are just dying to see how Ezekiel is looking at the ripe old age of 6 weeks! Don't his eyes just melt your heart???
Gifts vs. The Lottery
We were talking last week in our small group about winning the lottery. Who hasn't dreamed about what they would do if they won the lottery?? Of course, we'd pay off our house, any bills, etc. and drive a better car. We'd pay off the church and build the addition. We'd do some AMAZING traveling! But one of the funnest things about winning would be getting to help our friends and families. We think about the looks on people's faces as we start handing each of them $100,000 or $200,000 to help them pay off their own houses (or buy their first one!) How exciting it would be to be able to help so many people!!! We have absolutely no intention of remaining millionaires. There are plenty of ways to use the money up, then we'll go back to our normal lives. Because really.... we like our normal lives.
Then we got to thinking about what God has already given us. Each of us has some amazing gifts that God has chosen to pour out on us. Gifts that are far more valuable than any amount of money. Why is it we don't spend much time dreaming about how exciting it would be to freely give these gifts to our friends? Is it possible that we don't really understand that these gifts are FAR more valuable than any amount of money? When we freely offer to hand out these gifts, we give gifts with eternal significance. We give gifts that will REALLY make a difference in people's lives.
Gifts that last forever.
If we really understood that, I think we'd get a lot more excited about sharing our God-given gifts than we would about sharing any amount of money. Not that we wouldn't still share our lottery winnings. We live in the world, and let's face it... money comes in handy here. But how much more exciting is it to give something bigger, more meaningful, more permanent! We left our small group encouraging each other to pay closer attention, and I want to pass that same encouragement on to you. Whatever your giftings are, they are yours to freely give! Use them! Touch lives with them! Make a difference like only you can! Don't be afraid to get a little excited about it! God has poured out some amazing riches on you. And it's only right that you want to share.
Then we got to thinking about what God has already given us. Each of us has some amazing gifts that God has chosen to pour out on us. Gifts that are far more valuable than any amount of money. Why is it we don't spend much time dreaming about how exciting it would be to freely give these gifts to our friends? Is it possible that we don't really understand that these gifts are FAR more valuable than any amount of money? When we freely offer to hand out these gifts, we give gifts with eternal significance. We give gifts that will REALLY make a difference in people's lives.
Gifts that last forever.
If we really understood that, I think we'd get a lot more excited about sharing our God-given gifts than we would about sharing any amount of money. Not that we wouldn't still share our lottery winnings. We live in the world, and let's face it... money comes in handy here. But how much more exciting is it to give something bigger, more meaningful, more permanent! We left our small group encouraging each other to pay closer attention, and I want to pass that same encouragement on to you. Whatever your giftings are, they are yours to freely give! Use them! Touch lives with them! Make a difference like only you can! Don't be afraid to get a little excited about it! God has poured out some amazing riches on you. And it's only right that you want to share.
Monday, January 12, 2009
She still seems so close....
We took Jenelle to Minnesota on Thursday and left on Friday without her. Nothing seemed right about that. In fact, I asked Leonard through a flood of tears, "If this is the right thing to do, then why does it feel so wrong?" I don't think there is anything that could have made me feel good about driving away from ANYWHERE knowing we were leaving our daughter behind.
But here we are yet again in a brand new situation. We have a daughter who lives in a different state. 6 1/2 LONG hours away. I have to admit it took me a couple of days to come to grips with it. But today was her first day of classes and we've talked to her on the phone a couple of times already. I can hear in her voice that she is having the time of her life. She has made lots of friends already, she has gotten through her first day of classes without a hitch, and she is thoroughly enjoying the whole campus atmosphere.
Hearing the enthusiasm in her voice and knowing that these are the life experiences that are going to cause more growth in her than ever before somehow makes it easier. She is moving on with her life. She has real goals and a real plan to reach them. She doesn't need me to take care of her anymore--she's totally capable of taking care of herself. She's not my baby girl anymore, but she is an amazing and talented woman whom I deeply admire.
That makes her seem much closer.
But here we are yet again in a brand new situation. We have a daughter who lives in a different state. 6 1/2 LONG hours away. I have to admit it took me a couple of days to come to grips with it. But today was her first day of classes and we've talked to her on the phone a couple of times already. I can hear in her voice that she is having the time of her life. She has made lots of friends already, she has gotten through her first day of classes without a hitch, and she is thoroughly enjoying the whole campus atmosphere.
Hearing the enthusiasm in her voice and knowing that these are the life experiences that are going to cause more growth in her than ever before somehow makes it easier. She is moving on with her life. She has real goals and a real plan to reach them. She doesn't need me to take care of her anymore--she's totally capable of taking care of herself. She's not my baby girl anymore, but she is an amazing and talented woman whom I deeply admire.
That makes her seem much closer.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Where Life Makes Sense
Life is so full of worries. And yet we're not supposed to worry about them. Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. That's really good advice. It is very calming to stop and pray about everything and realize that you can leave it all in the capable hands of the God of the Universe. But sometimes it's just not very practical.
Jenelle is leaving for college on Thursday. I have been going around and around with the people in the school office trying to find out how much we're going to owe (to the tune of thousands of dollars, people). Here it is three days before we leave and I still don't know how much we're supposed to pay. Terri's son goes to the same college and she said they didn't let them know how much they owed until he had been there for two weeks, then the first payment was due 2 weeks later. Now, that may work fine for Donald Trump, but we kind of need to know what is going to be coming out of our paychecks. And even though this is a Christian college, when the time comes for that first payment I don't think they'll be very comforted by the fact that we've prayed about it and we're confident the God of the Universe will work it out.
These little quandaries pop up all the time. Pray about it, trust God, but in the meantime be sure something gets done about it. And you get enough of these things going on at one time... it can really throw you into a tailspin.
That's why I am so thankful for my comfy bed, because that, my dear friends, is where life makes sense... laying in my comfy bed, in my comfy room with Jack the chocolate lab cuddled up beside me. Oh, I know the day is coming. And I know it will have its challenges. But at those moments, as I lay there in the quiet, I just know God is in control. Those are the times I quit trying to figure everything out. Those are the times God finally gets me to be quiet enough that I can hear His voice. And those are the times I remember that even if nothing ever worked out right again, everything would be okay because I have Him near me, and that's all I need. It brings clarity, and preserves my sanity.
Quiet times with God are a necessity. I suspect in all those times when Jesus went off to be alone, He was heading for his comfy bed. You have to take time to stop the craziness. To let life be simple again. To connect with God and the things that really matter. To relax and enjoy His company.
Pray about everything. Don't worry about anything. TRUST.
It all seems so possible from my comfy bed.
Jenelle is leaving for college on Thursday. I have been going around and around with the people in the school office trying to find out how much we're going to owe (to the tune of thousands of dollars, people). Here it is three days before we leave and I still don't know how much we're supposed to pay. Terri's son goes to the same college and she said they didn't let them know how much they owed until he had been there for two weeks, then the first payment was due 2 weeks later. Now, that may work fine for Donald Trump, but we kind of need to know what is going to be coming out of our paychecks. And even though this is a Christian college, when the time comes for that first payment I don't think they'll be very comforted by the fact that we've prayed about it and we're confident the God of the Universe will work it out.
These little quandaries pop up all the time. Pray about it, trust God, but in the meantime be sure something gets done about it. And you get enough of these things going on at one time... it can really throw you into a tailspin.
That's why I am so thankful for my comfy bed, because that, my dear friends, is where life makes sense... laying in my comfy bed, in my comfy room with Jack the chocolate lab cuddled up beside me. Oh, I know the day is coming. And I know it will have its challenges. But at those moments, as I lay there in the quiet, I just know God is in control. Those are the times I quit trying to figure everything out. Those are the times God finally gets me to be quiet enough that I can hear His voice. And those are the times I remember that even if nothing ever worked out right again, everything would be okay because I have Him near me, and that's all I need. It brings clarity, and preserves my sanity.
Quiet times with God are a necessity. I suspect in all those times when Jesus went off to be alone, He was heading for his comfy bed. You have to take time to stop the craziness. To let life be simple again. To connect with God and the things that really matter. To relax and enjoy His company.
Pray about everything. Don't worry about anything. TRUST.
It all seems so possible from my comfy bed.
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