The eldest, little chief.

Well, my apologies.  It has been too long, and though I have personally spoken to my loyal readers (ahem), it is still necessary.  I found  myself in bed last night rolling through all kinds of thoughts in my head and decided that I would try and spit them out.  For those of you who know me, you realize this is a most difficult process.  I have already processed them with a live person (at least one I can see in front of me) and so finding the time to do the second step is quite difficult.  Nonetheless, I begin.

1.  I want to start with my precious children, namely the eldest. He is amazing.  Hey is getting so big, it's unbelievable.  I know all parents experience the same emotions, so I am in no way different, but seriously.  How did I get to have an almost 7 year old?????  Last weekend we decided something had to be done about our driveway.  It is quite steep, paved with that black stuff (not concrete) and has been breaking apart all over.  It was consuming the Daddy chief's time and worries- as repaving a driveway like ours is close to 10k.  Missionaries don't really have that sitting around. . . .i suppose you all don't either, but you know.  AND if you do have that kind of cash sitting around, who really wants to spend it on a driveway when there's another member of your family out there some where waiting to be adopted????  (another post for another day)  ANYWAY,  we had a seal put over the existing driveway to prolong it's life and Daddy had to clear all the debris off it.  The guy said he would be here early Saturday morning.  Big Boy Chief had his first soccer game at 9:30.  At 10, daddy was still out on the driveway.  He was heartbroken.  They both were.  And to top it all off, the guy called (at 10) and said the paving plant was closed and he wouldn't be coming out at all.  As I was explaining to my son how sad his daddy was- we headed home.  We picked up daddy and they sat in the back of the van together and talked the whole way to Lowes.  (We had to pick up some broccoli plants, another post)  That afternoon when it was quiet in the house, I was sitting at the bar with him talking about the morning.  He looked at me and said, "Mommy, I feel sad that Daddy feels sad."  We then proceeded to have this precious coversation about what it means to have compassion for the people around you.  I know they have talked about it some in school, but seeing my little boy connect at a heart level with suffering around him was intimately profound, preciously beautiful, and humbly strong.  He has such an amazing capacity to love, just as the Lord told us from the very beginning.  Within the next several days, I watched him give his brother two quarters, when he was sad that he didn't get as much allowance.  He also asked me about when we would adopt again and with deep concern, what happens to the kids and babies that don't get adopted?  Maybe it's just boys, but this is a new thing for us.  Something that is very important to my heart and something I desperately want my kids to see.  Though we can't fix all the wrongs in the world, and though it is not our job- to be able to see them with the eyes of the Father is to be able to love them.  To have compassion in your heart is to begin to see things like Jesus does.  How I want for my kids to know the heart of the Son.  To have compassion, is to love at the simplest level.  Seeing can someday become doing, but doing will never happen if we can never see. 
 (sidenote, it is never fully about doing-- only obedience according to the Spirit)

Matthew 22:36-40   36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"  37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  38 This is the first and greatest commandment.  39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."


Matthew 6:22  22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light."