I don’t know how many people would know this. I have always wanted to get married and have a family. From the time I was 9 years, old chasing girls on haystack hill, I knew I wanted a family. I don’t think I ever went through that phase where I thought girls had cooties (though I think I now know a few who do). As I got older the want and desire of family grew, I wanted the loving wife and beautiful family. For some reason I always wanted a daughter. I think there is a special relationship with some dad’s and daughters. That is not to say I didn’t want sons too, but a daughter definitely was part of the picture.
I am not writing this to bemoan my single status. I am not writing this for sympathy. I don’t think I will ever get married and I am content with that. God has shown me some possibilities on where He wants me to go and I am willing to go. If someday He brings a woman in my life, I am all for marriage, but for now I don’t believe it is in the picture. I write this because I want to show I have an inkling of what it is to love a wife and a child. I may have no idea of the reality of that love, but I have a taste in the desire for it.
I am going to shift gears, so you are going to have to bear with me for a few minutes. Some of the verses that often echoes in my mind are from Isaiah 47:8-10. If I understand the intent of Isaiah, he is taking to task the Babylonian for trusting in their society, in their ways and that they no longer need God. Sounds like the great “American Dream”. We have so much money, so much of everything. We are self-sufficient, self-confident, and rarely need God. Boy does this describe me. Instead of running to the Almighty God of the bible. I run to the god of Todd, worse than any stump shaped like an idol.
Switching back to families.. Hang on we are almost there (yes I do have a point someplace in my incoherency)
Two families that I only know through the internet are facing the loss of their children. The first I have followed for over a year and have mentioned on facebook, are Aaron and Holly McRae and their daughter Kate. Kate Mcrae has gone through brain surgery, radiation, chemo and finally remission only to find out that there is a very good chance that their daughter has more cancer. The second family is Doug and Jessica Rumbold and their daughter Jada. They found out about their daughters aggressive cancer a few months ago. There was a story about them at the Gospel Coalition website and Doug has his own blog.
What all this setup has been for is to introduce you to the huge powerful God and intimate father that both of these families have come running to. Both of these families have come to their Genesis 22 moment where they have to give their children over to God. They no longer can count on money, doctors or anything on this earth to save them. Whether he heals their kids or takes them, they only can trust that God will do good for those who love Him and are called to His purpose. These families are being refined in the furnace of affliction and their faith in Christ is so strong.
I hold them up as what faith and love for God is suppose to look like in the midst of trials. They may never know that maybe one of God’s purposes in their suffering is to strengthen a single man’s faith and show him how big and beautiful our God is.
I ask you to pray for these families and also ask you to praise God for these family and their faith in Him.
What does Isaiah 47:8-10 have to do with families? I am sure you are wondering why I am making wide ranging post here, but it isn’t. When everything is going good and everything is cruising along. The job is going well. The wife is beautiful and happy and the perfect help mate. The kids are growing, healthy, intelligent and are going to be everything we expect. Life is perfect. You have little bumps in the road and with your knowledge, with your money you are able to solve those problems. I don’t have the family, but you get the point. You love God, but he is not your first love, you are the king of the world and got everything under control then something happens… You can’t fix it, your money can’t fix it, your world shatters. There is only one place you can turn… We have no choice we turn to God.
As you look at the stories of both the Mcrae’s and the Rumbold’s stories we see how powerful and loving God is in these world shattering, desperate situations. It is in these situations where we believers, know God will show him self most. We need to praise Him for being there in these moments.
This is where I thought this blog would stop, but as I write this, I have been hit with another thought. This post has definitely gone to a couple of places I didn’t expect…. So if it is gibberish, well deal with it and see if maybe there is something you can get out of this.
Why don’t we trust God in the intimate, daily details of our life? Why is it that we think that we have the small things under control? The daily things, the mundane things, the things that seem so small that it would be a bother to God. If you look at Matthew 6:25-34; 10:29-30, the small things matter to God. So why don’t we turn those things over to God?
I think I know my answer…
I know that God will take away the things I love most. (Yes I know I am suppose to say I love God most, but let’s face reality, I don’t, I still love myself to much) I am afraid that God will take away my throne, my self-worship, the sin that I covet and pretend is too small to offend him. God so loved the world that he sent his only son not only to save us but to transform us into the same image as His Son. And I think as much as I say I want to be transformed. I think often I want to stay in my sin. As I think this through, and as horrible as it sounds, I think that I would be more willing to sacrifice my child than sacrifice some of the sins and idols that I hold dear.
God’s rescue plan is not just to be there for those big moments in life. I want to love God like the Mcrae’s and Rumbold’s do. God wants to replace the deceitful, poisonous, sinful heart of stone, with a living heart that beats to the tune of His Son. God wants to permeate our life and be a part of everything, he wants to transform us from broken, fallen people into the same image as His Son, from one degree of glory to another.
Are we willing to give up our fallenness in order to become more like Him? Are we willing to sacrifice in the way Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, the things we love most to God in order to become more like Him?
One last thing, go spend some time in the Mcrae’s and Rumbold’s blog and look and look at their relationship with the Lord and see how alive and fruitful it is.
Holly Mcrae’s blog: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate
Aaron Mcrae’s blog: http://aaronmcrae.wordpress.com/
Doug Rumbold’s story at the GC: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2011/02/10/counted-worthy-to-suffer/
Doug Rumbold’s blog: http://thedimewithdoug.blogspot.com/
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