Thankful for............

Well I am certainly "late" with a Thanksgiving Post.  There are so many things that I could share with regards to what I am thankful for.  But instead I want to share with you the "list" of my sweet little boy, Levi.  I hope to share with you what his "list" means from his heart and the brutal reality of where his thanks come from.

Every year the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving our church has a "Thanksgiving Eve" Service.  It is a great service that we look forward to each year.  We sing songs of praise and worship to our Father and then there is a time for personal sharing.  Usually one person from each family steps up to share what their family is thankful for.  There are some sweet messages of thanks and there are some amazing stories of people being healed physically that bring much emotion and thanksgiving as well. 

We had briefly shared at our dinner table before attending service what each of us was thankful for.  Most years we don't have a family representative because my sweet husband gets too choked up and cannot speak when he gets up there.  I am ok with that... God knows!  But this year Levi was so excited to see that people got to go up there and say thanks to God for things!  He kept asking me "mom, are we going up there?"  "Mom, can I go up there?"  I said "are you sure?"... So I went up there with him and he spoke.

He said, "My name is Levi.  I am thankful God, that He loved me and rescued me.  I am thankful that I don't have to worry about not having enough food to eat anymore.  And I am thankful for that I am safe!"

Now for most people there hearts are touched...they may even cry a few tears. But to this mom it is way beyond that.  You see, for Levi those words are not textbook. Those words are extremely literal!  For a child like Levi being rescued, having enough food, and being safe are a big big deal.  We live every day with expectations that we will have food and be safe.  Some of us have been "rescued" for so long that we can forget what it "feels" like to live needing a rescuer.  Not so for Levi and many other orphans.

The Food..... most of us can see this need.  We see the need for feeding the poor in the media every day.  There is no shortage of those in need of food.  Not just in other countries but in the US as well.  We see it... we donate to local pantries... we give money to help.  All good things! God calls us to share what we have.... to be generous and to care for the orphan and the widow in their time of need. ( James 1:27) We all see the commercials of the children in other countries with extended bellies and bone thing arms and legs from disease and poor nutrition.  But most of us haven't experienced what it is like to go hungry.  I know I whine when I have to fast for lab work..or when I am fasting for prayer.  The truth is we don't know. We don't know what it is like to eat without stopping until the kettle is taken away. We don't understand how any child could "save" food in their cheeks or their pants pockets to take to bed with them so just in case there isn't food tomorrow...they will have some.  We don't get it that children who don't eat 3 meals a day every day will literally "lick" their plates with their tongues to get every last drop. We don't scrounge through week old garbage desperate to find something to fill out bellies.  We don't know what it is like to drink water so dirty you can't see through it just to wet our tongues and lips.  We don't know......
But, Levi does!  Levi knows...

Feeling Safe..... We all have our little "secret fears".  Spiders...crowds...birds... guns... water..etc.  We each have something.  There are other things that we fear... Some of us even have fears of certain people in our lives.  I am so so sorry for anyone to have fears of another.  But I wonder what it would be like to be afraid all of the time!?   Every minute of every day.  Every night when the lights go out. Every morning when a new day dawns.  Every time you go to church. Every time you go to a store. Every time you meet new people. Every time the family you live with leaves... to fear if they will come back or not.  Fear of these people who say they love you...just wondering when they will turn on you...and begin to hurt you, 'cause everyone does!   While I am sensitive to those who have suffered abuse at the hands of other. Most of us just do not know these fears and on a daily basis.... every minute.
But, Levi does! Levi Knows all of these fears.

Being Rescued... Perhaps this is the one that cuts me to the core.  When Levi said he was thankful that God rescued him.  Seriously!  We all know that we have a rescuer in Jesus! He rescues us from our sin and alot of times, from ourselves.  Most of us probably don't know what it is like to have a "superhero" in our lives. One who saved us from a car wreck...or saves us from stepping out in front of a car or moving vehicle.  Maybe someone in your life saved you from making a bad choice in a boy/girl to date.
I don't want to downplay or negate any of those life saving experiences.  But I want to share what it means to Levi. 
For Levi, he really needed a rescuer.  He literally needed to be rescued from his old life. ( anyone else relate to that?) (Colossians 1:13-14)  He has been a victim for most of his life.  From the very beginning he needed to be rescued.  We all need rescuing.  But the difference for Levi and other orphaned children, is that they didn't make those choices.  They didn't do anything to bring on the sin that has shaped their little hearts, minds and bodies.  HE needed rescuing from those who sinned against him!  He has been, and still is in some ways,  in bondage to the sins that others committed against him. HE needed to be rescued.  IN every sense of the word.  He needed to be saved in every sense of the word.  He needed to be "lifted out of the slimy pit and have his feet set on a rock" (Psalm 40:2)in every sense of the words!  He has suffered much in ways you and I could not even imagine. HE needed to be rescued from that!  HE is thankful to be rescued... from that old life of his and to be brought to his new life...here and in Christ!

You see, adoption is salvation. For these children this is their salvation.  In every sense of the word.  This is what I have learned in this past year.  There is so much more to adopting a child than "getting them out of there 'bad circumstances'".  Yes God calls people to adopt. But it doesn't end there. It doesn't end when you get off the plane and unpack the suitcases.  It doesn't end when you stop "cocooning" with them at home.  People...this is 100% about their salvation. This is about God's plan for their lives and ours, and Him working out their salvation.  Like all of us, when we surrender to Christ...we open ourselves up to pain and then healing, to the truth of lies that kept us in bondage, to change... scary change.  We are giving up all that is familiar to us in order to "begin" again with Him and His ways.  We leave the old behind for the new.  We see things that we never saw before... we don't understand things as we did before.  NOTHING seems familiar.... but yet it does...  Giving our lives to Christ sets us up to do things that are not about ourselve...but about something much bigger than we are.  We see this world and this life as "temporary" and a step to what will be eternal! We have to step out and speak up to things that we once felt completely  comfortable with... that now we see harmful.  Adoption is the gospel As we ourselves are adopted into God's family... we adopt these children into our families and God begins to heal and call them.  There is lifetime work and committment to adoption. There are hard days and there are easy days.  BUT... it really isn't any different than our lives with our Heavenly Father! He loves every day...He doesn't leave us as orphans without direction... He walks us through to deliverance and salvation in Him!
Ephesians 1:4-6
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In Love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.


Everyday there is work to be done. Everyday there is healing taking place. (Philippians 1:6)With the Father leading the charge we are blessed and privileged to watch his salvation and redemption before our very eyes.  We get to see God's love heal him. We get to model God's love to him. We get to be his parents. We get to love him!  We get to enjoy him!  We get to! We get to!  Many days we feel so unworthy... we feel so simple... but God, in His goodness, reminds us that we are who He chose.  We are who He called!  For that We are thankful!

Please pray for all of the orphans in the world.  They each have their own "slimy pit" that they need rescuing from. Each of them suffers. Each of them needs to be rescued. Not only by having a forever family, but each of them needs Jesus' rescuing love, grace and mercy.  They need the rescuing gift of salvation.  They need Jesus!

Thankful to be....
In His Embrace