The Blessing of Hope

We attended the funeral of an 11 yr old boy this weekend. It turns out he's just 2 days younger than Joshua. And as funerals have a way of doing (at least for me) they make you reflect and evaluate your life a bit. Because this boy was so close in age to Joshua, my heart greived at the thought of losing him. Losing any of our children would leave such a hole, because they have become such an intregral part of our family that our family would be incomplete without any one of them. Ironically, Joshua has been staying with his grandparents since the funeral, so we've been able to experience what our family would be like without him - and I really miss him. But what I really wanted to share was that in death, our Hope is the resurrection. Joshua even asked about this boy "Did he know Jesus?". And I said, "I don't know but God does", but the assurance I have, is that Joshua does, and our goal in raising each of our children is to point them to Christ. To raise them in the knowledge and instruction of the Lord. I was reminded of a great verse..

"The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life. " 1 John 5:10-13

So although the loss would be great, we cling to the hope that this life is not all there is and one day we would reunite with them in the presence of our God.

Hope is such an incredible blessing. Similarly, the AoH orphanage is a refuge of hope. The children that make it inside those walls have hope. They have hope of being fed and cared for, the hope of a forever family, and the hope of a future that is bright. Outside those walls is a lot of despair. So I'm excited to be a part of God's instrument of hope for Josiah and Gabriella and just wanted to share that blessing with you.

On a side note, Kim and I are the proud foster parents of a little baby girl named Ava born Saturday. We bring her home today so I will post some pictures tonight. But please remember her birth mom in your prayers. She has brought much joy to an adoptive couple who has been praying for a child, but please pray God would give her peace and comfort surrounding her decision to give up her child for adoption.