Throughout the past two to three weeks, I have had ample opportunity to seek the Lord. It seems as though all sorts of crises erupt all at the same time. I have decided to embrace these moments. I had to complete my online parenting courses, and the one thing that kept reiterating in my mind was, I have to be more Christ-like, for me and for Vivie. What God is showing me is that I cannot be more like Him if I do not truly know Him. "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you" has now transformed for me. I used to believe that these words meant that I could ask for "things," and they would appear, because the Lord is good. Now, I believe that these words are a directive to my heart; these words plead with me to earnestly ask the Lord to reveal himself to me. When I ask for Him, I will find Him. When I seek Him, He will open a doorway to his heart, nature, love, etc. One thing is for certain, I want, more than anything, for Vivie to KNOW Christ. The Lord has ordained me to be an example for her. That, alone, stirs me. It gives me the desire to scour the callouses off of my faith. It causes me to desire Him more. And that desire, in spite of all of the chaos that can occur daily, is satisfaction.
Throughout the online classes, one horror after another is revealed to you of what you can expect from an institutionalized child. Here is my summed up lesson from all of those classes:
REST IN HIM
Photo Credit for all three photos: April Wareham
Pictured above are precious little ones who are orphaned and living in the DR Congo. They, like Vivie, need your prayers.
