Brave

We're entering the early stages of adoption - processing what to do, when to do, and how.  There are A LOT of paths we could take and, while we have an idea of what we'd like to do, we are trying to stay open to all possibilities God might have for us.

One possibility is bringing in the children of women living on the streets in order to provide quality, loving care for their little ones while those moms sort through tough decisions about how they are going to live their lives and how they are going to take care of their children.  This may or may not lead to adoption, the mission is more focused on loving those kids and their mama - hoping that she'll make the right choices and be the loving family those babies need.

The idea of bringing in “street babies” is noble but scary. It would be very difficult to work with kids who have experienced things I can’t even dream of. And then even more difficult to send them back into that environment, once Mom gets back on her feet. But after watching a video for one of the ministries that does this and seeing the faces of these babies, I don’t know how anyone would not be moved to want to help. The opportunity to give them real, genuine love during the vital parts of their developing years would be a privilege and a blessing to all. That time would be something those kids would take with them forever, that could possibly change their lives.


I heard Nicole Nordeman’s song “Brave” on the radio yesterday and started thinking about her words, “you make me want to be brave.” I don’t know what the song is about but I started to think about who I could say such a phrase to. I don’t believe I am a very brave person, I’m pretty scrawny and not too confident in my ability to defend or protect. Jeff doesn’t make me want to be brave, because he’s brave – he protects me so I don’t feel I have to be that for him. The same with Jesus, he’s brave, he’s my defender, so I don’t feel that I need to be the brave one.

But what about my babies. Who is their defender? Jesus, of course. But here on earth, who is going to protect them? Jeff will, but there will be times when I’m with our babies alone – and I’m going to need to be brave. I’m going to need to stand up for them and defend them spiritually, emotionally, and possibly even physically. I don’t feel ready in any way, shape, or form to take on such a task. But then, when I look at their faces, I can easily say, “you make me want to be brave.”

Help me brave, Lord.