Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
We continue to be blown away by the way God is caring for us through this time. As I read through the Bible over and over I am reminded that God is a God of abundance - not in a "you'll have all sorts of stuff" kind of way, but just that what he does he does abundantly. He never promises just enough grace that we can squeak by, but the Bible instead talks about the riches of his mercy and grace. And that doesn't just apply to our salvation, but it expands to all of the ways he deals with us. I think about how completely God prepared us to lose Reuben completely in the months before his initial diagnosis. In the richness of his mercy he went out of his way (though I suppose that phrase is not completely appropriate - I think it IS his way) to make sure that we knew 1) that Reuben was a blessing and 2) God was good regardless of the way in which that blessing intersected our lives. Within that framework, we were amply supplied with what we needed spiritually and emotionally to make it through those first days and weeks and months of living suddenly with a child with special needs. We were even "blessed" that first month with hardly any work (again, one of the perks of being self-employed is that your schedule is not static), which although it was challenging financially, was so clearly provision from Him to free up the emotional and physical energy that was required to care for Reuben especially over that first month. (The first med they tried with him seemed to actually exacerbate his seizures rather than amelliorate them, resulting in us going back for another multi-day in-patient VEEG with Reuben less than two months after his first long stay. December 2010 is a month I will not soon forget!)
I think about this, too, even in something as silly as there being Roman ruins in Sofia. For many many years I'd dreamed of going to Italy and seeing Roman ruins, but had given that up in favor of other things, like caring for my children, some of whom make travel just for fun not really a realistic option. ;) But God, in his abundance, provided even that opportunity to me. ;) This still makes me smile.
My growing understanding of God's abundant nature is that we will always be fully supplied to do what he has asked each one of us to do. Our job is to obey when we hear his voice. His job is to provide the physical, emotional, spiritual means that we are dependent on to complete the work.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (from Joshua 1)
As this was rumbling through my head this morning I noticed that it begins with "have I not commanded you?" It is one thing to just be strong and courageous, but another to do that in the context of what God has commanded you to do. Within that context, there are amazing promises.
And, as I began, we are told that He is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. And that he does this so that He will be glorified. What a delight to be on the receiving end. Listen to just a few pragmatic ways that we have been abundantly supplied beyond what we could think up ourselves:
- I mentioned last week that our church called asking if they could provide meals on a semi-regular basis, and that she (meal coordinator) and I talked about having a meal on Wednesdays, at least some weeks, would be a great help. On Sunday she passed me a note with details on two people who wanted to provide meals this week, and said she'd email me the rest of the list she'd put together later in the week. We got the list. We have been offered two or three meals every week through the end of January. Completely beyond anything I'd ever expected. I emailed her back, thinking that when I'd said 2-3 per month that she'd thought I'd said 2-3 per week, and that this was way more than I'd been anticipating. She called me back the next day, and simply explained that it was also way more than she'd been expecting, too, but that there were that many people who had offered to help, and many of them for multiple times, and as we talked, she helped me get to a comfort level of just accepting the help that our church is offering. The two days this week that we had a meal were wonderful days. It doesn't seem like that much, but Reuben especially is very needy, and those two days were the best days that he's had, and I was able to tackle many other random tasks that have been patiently waiting for their turn in addition to being able to be more sensitive to Reuben's needs and able to guide him through his day. [This seems Reuben heavy, but in reality, when Reuben's day goes smoothly, the day is better for everyone.]
- This morning as we were leaving therapy, we got another off-loading of chux pads and diapers from the same family who shared some of their extras with us last week. Yay! Chux pads!!
- Last week I was able to meet in person a mother I met through the internet through her blog. I actually was refered to her blog by a friend of mine when I was looking into the question of where home school and public school fit in the question of a child with special needs - nothing at all to do with CP and adoption! But a few of their children have been adopted, and her youngest has CP just like Krassi. Over the last few weeks we've emailed about a number of things, and last week she offered to stop by with a stroller that they are not using that has been very nice for having in the house for Krassi to use at mealtimes (it's smaller than the one Dondi gave us, and also lets us not have to always be in and out of the house with the other one.) She also brought over two packs of diapers that they don't have need for anymore.
*** Funny interlude - Matt just came in, read over my shoulder, and commented, "Oh yeah - I still haven't gotten the diapers out of the diaper van yet!" He he he . ;) Nothing like a good laugh. Some people have diaper bags. We, apparently, have a diaper van. ;) I guess we'll just drive that behind the bus we'll need come April!***
- That same friend has been an invaluable resource as we begin to learn to navigate the world of CP, surgeries, and adoption. It's been great having Dondi as a resource, but even nicer to have TWO people I respect who I can talk to about some of these things.
I think sometimes its easy for us (as humans) to forget how completely dependent we are in everything upon God. It's easy to be in a place where we think that we've got it mostly covered, and we just need him to give us that little boost. But he's way more than just someone to provide a nudge when necessary. HE is the supplier of everything that we need, and as I've said before, I love how that takes the pressure off of us, his people, and leaves us free simply to listen to him and obey him.
It's good for me to be reminded of this. ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment