Lessons learned

Hannah--our middle pancake is turning out pretty well. :)

John--his sweetness makes me smile.

"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD. Isaiah 54:17

I'm missing a picture of Sarah Beth here, because my photos have been wiped clean in a purge of my hard drive, and I don't know where Marc has put them. But imagine a cute picture of her up there, too, with a comment about how proud I am of the person she has become. You get the idea. If you know me at all, and even if you only know me through this blog, you know that I am crazy about my kids. Interestingly, I didn't think I wanted children until I met Marc. I couldn't picture myself as being a loving Mom, sacrificing for my children. It just didn't seem to fit with what I knew about myself. But then I met Marc, fell in love, and realized that my own capacity to love was much, much deeper than I'd imagined. And then Sarah Beth, Han and John showed up on the scene, and my capacity to love them turned out to be unlimited. I like them. I love them. I'm proud of them. I pray for them constantly. They are central to everything about my life. Along with Marc, they are some of God's very best gifts to me--in a life filled with God's good gifts.

I've told the story many times of Hannah's struggles when we moved to Russia. It was a difficult time for all of us, but especially for her. But we learned some things as a family during that time that God is continuing to use in our lives today. For me, it firmed up and clarified exactly what I want my children to take away from their experience overseas, living in a land that is not their own and shining Christ's light in the darkness. As Han has faced a couple of very hard, discouraging weeks, those lessons have proved essential to keeping her as encouraged as possible. I think they are universal lessons from which anyone can benefit, so I thought I'd share them with you.

Lesson one: Trouble will come. If you are human and breathing, you will have trouble. It's what you do with the trouble that shows the world what and who you really are. And if you're a believer, Jesus pretty much promised that you would be hated for His name's sake. But He also told us to take heart, because He has overcome the world. Don't panic when trouble comes. As the last weeks have played out and Han has struggled, I have pictured her burrowing further into the Father's lap, cushioned from the world by the One who loves her best. And that has been a comfort for me, because what I WANT to do is kick some bottoms and take names on her behalf. :)

Lesson two: You cannot control what others do or do not do. This is a hard one for me. I want people to act toward my children how I think they should act. And that isn't just the people who are making life difficult. It's also the people who should (in my opinion) be encouraging her and lifting her up--but aren't. But I have no control over that, and neither does she. What we have control over is pretty limited. We have control over how we act, how we look at things, how we love others. And we have control over whether we choose to believe that Jesus is exactly who He says He is. We've told our kids a thousand times: people will disappoint you. Jesus NEVER will. Trust Him and choose to love others in spite of themselves.

Lesson three: Surround yourself with real friendships. Sarah Beth and I have been talking lately about what real friendship looks like. It always builds up, always loves, is always excited for the good in the other person's life, is always sad for the other person when sadness comes their way. I have been blessed with some incredible friendships in my life, women with whom I have a close bond and to whom I can turn in times of joy or sorrow. Some of them are also living overseas. Some of them are in the States. But they are true friendships that sustain me, gifts from God that I rejoice over. My children have those same relationships. Some here. Some there. But they are a source of great encouragement and worth the investment of time and energy they take to build.

Lesson four: Make much of Jesus. Paul said that he considered momentary troubles nothing in comparison to the joy of knowing Jesus. As we continue as a family to grow in our knowledge of who He is and how He created us to live in Him, it is impossible to do anything but love Him more. Trials will come. People will hate us for His name's sake. Persecution will follow us. But we are never alone. If every friend leaves us, we are not alone. If our enemy seems to win the battle, we are not alone. He is everything. Knowing Him...it's beyond my capacity for words to explain the joy that comes from knowing Him and His mercy and compassion and deep love for us. This incredible adventure we have been called to live is not about us. Not even for a second is it about us. It's about Him. All of it--the joy, the happiness, the fun, the sorrow, the fear, the hurt--it's all about Him and for Him. We want to make much of Jesus.

Well, it seems that no matter how long I sit at my kitchen table, it isn't going to make the sun come out, so I guess it's time to get going. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are rejoicing in your momentary troubles because you know you are never alone, and that you are looking forward to attending a school play tonight, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye