A Journey to Save a Life: Part Twenty-one/ The Conclusion…Why Did I Write This?
First of all, I want to thank those of you who followed along everyday on this journey you have been on. Doing this in a blog format was not easy to follow along, so thank you to those who persevered! You all have busy schedules, so having you tune in for each episode has been heartwarming, to say the least!
In the first of two blogs, to sort of set up this whole saga of the adoption of our daughter Gina, I spoke of the 40 day Lenten Journey of Christ; where Jesus wondered through the desert gathering strength and wisdom in order to withstand His crucifixion on Good Friday. Within those two blogs; preambles, so to speak, for this larger story about Gina, I spoke of us all being on a journey as well, as we searched for meaning and purpose to our own life.
This journey you have taken with me wasn’t about what my family had to endure; it is about what my family overcame. This story isn’t about how strong our family was; it is about how powerful a God we serve!
The headline in each day’s post started out with, “A Journey to Save a Life”. What is really interesting is this…I thought I was saving Gina’s life when I first began this journey…but some 30 years later, I think this time span was God’s teachable moment with me…when he opened my eyes to the fact that I had saved my own life.
While the story of Gina’s adoption was certainly a fantastic story in itself, it is really a parable to a much larger story, for you see…
I have come to believe that each of us has been called by God to do something in this world; in this life we have been given. We weren’t meant to wonder aimlessly though life. No, each one of us has a purpose…a destiny that our Creator has placed within our hearts. There are people and places in our future placed there by Almighty God. Each one of us is important to God; we are all interconnected to each other. The problem we have as humans is to listen close enough to that little voice inside our soul…for the voice is but a whisper.
I have come to believe that God is not otherworldly. He doesn’t exist on a cloud somewhere in the cosmos. No, God is standing right next to you. You may not be able to see Him in the natural, but you can come to know that He is there. God is not passive. To those who have accepted their mission, He will lead the way on your journey…and during the difficult times, He will give you strength…and sometimes He will fight your battles for you, and defeat your enemies.
I have come to believe, with God on your side, you will find that you are a much stronger than you think. For most, those who haven’t answered God’s call, they are like a plane on a runway with no fuel in their tanks. They are capable of flying, but without the fuel of God, they cannot soar…and God wants each and every one of us to soar. We have more capacity than we can even imagine. God has no limits.
I believe we have a responsibility to our fellow man. Just as God has shown compassion towards us, we must do the same for our fellow man. This is the most valuable lesson I learned in our adoption journey. There’s a transformation which occurs within everyone who tries to lighten the burden of another. The person doing the helping gains more than the person being helped. That wonderful feeling you have in your heart when you do something nice for someone…that feeling was put there by God. It’s His way of rewarding you so you will keep doing good deeds.
I believe that life is one great big test. I always tell my children that life is God’s teachable moment with us. Our life is a huge opportunity for us to find God, to learn how to love one another, and how to make a lasting impact in the hearts and minds of the people who love us. Most of us will never be a world leader, or a major player on the planet; but that doesn’t mean our existence isn’t any less meaningful. Our job is to help those we encounter to find God by how we live our lives. God is not interested in what’s in your wallet, or purse…He is interested in what is in your heart.
I think the single biggest test to our humanity is how we treat our children. As I said earlier, children are a gift from God. Children are much like a computer; they come to you from God with an empty hard drive. Over the years, you are the one adding programs to them. Did you load the program for love, or the program for hate? Did you nurture them, and protect them…or did you allow them to be corrupted? Obviously there are certain biological factors involved in why the human race has such a long childhood to adulthood span. For other mammals, the road to adulthood is relatively short, yet for us humans; it is a span of some two decades. Why is that? Well, for sure we are more complex than the others…but there is more to it than that. Parents have to teach their children the ways of the world; but more importantly they have to teach them the ways of God…and candidly, we have to start doing a better job on the latter.
I began my journey 30 years ago, and the person who began the journey was not the person who finished the journey. Along the way I gained a little knowledge; but more importantly, I gained a little wisdom. But isn’t that objective of any journey? You don’t go to Italy on vacation and not come back a little smarter. God wants us to venture out a little bit, test our limits. That is how we grow. One objective in any journey is to gain perspective. While we shouldn’t delight in another’s misfortune; knowing that there are others far worse off than ourselves will help us overcome our own little private pity parties we feel we are entitled to.
To those of you who have answered God’s call, you can see from the troubles our family encountered, I can’t promise that your life will be without suffering. Far from it, choosing the path He has asked you to follow will always be the most difficult path. If it were easy, more people would choose it. So not only will the path be more difficult, but it will be less traveled. What I can tell you is this, the end of your journey will definitely be more rewarding. Not in an earthly ways, not is ways we normally measure success…but in your heart you will come to know God.
So that’s it…the end of the journey, the end of the line…we have arrived at the station. Those of you wishing to disembark may do so at this time. To those of you who have heard that little voice down deep in your soul, and now have a new destination placed in your heart by God…have a wonderful journey!
May God bless each and every one of you!
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