Franklin Five

Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18

Sunday, October 06, 2013

Perspective

We picked up Isabella, Kellen, and Jean at Anita's house this morning and took them to church.  What a special experience to worship beside them, to hear Jean's beautiful voice as she sang, and to be reminded that God is the God of Uganda and Canada and the US.  Isabella sat on my lap for the entire sermon coloring in her little Minnie Mouse coloring book maybe even using crayons for the first time.

They came over to our house after church for lunch.  Over roast beef and rice, we shared about our lives, and I heard about how Kellen walks one mile every day to retrieve water and then carry it on her head the mile home.  She has no running water, no flush toilets, no electric stove.  I will think about this now every time I turn on the water at my sink or cook something on my stove.  How different our lives are, and yet we both our love our children with a fierce love.  We both would go to great lengths to protect our babies, and we both work hard, in our own ways, to put a good meal on the table for our families.

After lunch, I got out a few items of clothing that I thought they might like, some for Isabella and some for Kellen.  Oh, I had no clue how much this would bless them.  I was simply cleaning out my closet and Lidiyanna's dresser getting rid of some things we no longer wore, but to them, it was a huge gift.  Their eyes light up and they immediately started trying on the clothes.  Isabella had been wearing some thing of her brother's, and to see her little smile when they slipped a light green dress with pink roses on over her head made my heart melt.  She looked adorable and she knew it.  It was a moment I do not want to forget.

When they left to go back to Anita's house this afternoon, my heart was full.  We have so much here in North America.  I am thankful for the perspective Isabella and her mommy gave me today.  I want to live with less and give more.  I want to choose a life of purpose over a life of comfort. I want to be stretched so I can love more.  God is using Isabella's heart condition to work on the condition of my own heart.  May it be so.

1 comment:

votemom said...

what a remarkable and life-changing experience. so, so very cool!

i no longer have your email addy, can you email me at votemom@gmail? was going to give you a quick update on my tennessee kids ;o)