Mrs. Barnes eight grade English class. That's my first memory of having my writing shared publicly. It was a paper I had written on The Outsiders.
I wanted to sink down in my seat, or excuse myself to the bathroom…anything to avoid making eye contact with someone listening to my vulnerable fourteen-year-old thoughts on innocence, gaps between the rich and poor, and Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay".
Now, I write a blog.
I share weekly, my most precious moments, my heart's struggles, and my growing pains. Yet, years later, part of me is still very much a fourteen-year-old girl. After each post, I push "publish" and hold my breath.
Will you still like me after you read? I avoid checking my email for comment notifications. Would you, theoretically, sit next to me at lunch after hearing what I have to say?
And most recently, after sharing My World Race Wish… I wondered, what if it doesn't come true?
What if no Compassion Children are sponsored? What will I write? How will I, as they do in Thailand, save face?
PSALM 143:8
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
And, to you LORD I entrust the lives of Teerawat (sponsored 25 October 2013), Tenachat (sponsored 24 October 2013), Kadam (sponsored 25 October 2013), Chang (sponsored 3 November 2013), and Morjeeyu (sponsored 5 November 2013).
Dear friends,
The Lord is good.
Not because of sponsorships or compassion letters, or wishes and hopes.
But, because His love for each of us in unfailing.
He cares tenderly about my heart's desires, published or not.
With a Holy Expectancy I waited, and prayed, and petitioned. Not for sponsorships, but for the brave boys of Thailand to know that The Lord is good; for a promise of blessing to be given to each of them. Desiring that they too would trust in Him.
In faith, you joined me. You stood in the gaps and interceded and shared and encouraged. You brought my wish into being. For that, I am grateful. Thank you. You rejoiced with me, and hoped with me… beautiful community.
The Lord is good.
And I learned.
I learned, once again, that community is good. There is humble strength in vulnerability and sharing. There is power in words, and in speaking your heart.
And I'm learning, daily, how loved I am.
By people here, and people at home.
And by The Father.
The Father, who made me and knows me, and placed the desire for compassion in me…
The Father, who delights when I trust Him with my heart's desires big and small.
The Father, who is honored when I, with humble and holy expectancy, make my requests known to him.
He is my reason for joy.
His unfailing love is my reason for trusting.
With my World Race Wish granted. I begin a new prayer.
The prayer that Teerawat, Tenachat, Kadam, Chang, and Morjeeyu will know of His unfailing love; and that their sponsor families would grow in faith by their willingness to serve.
A prayer of thanksgiving for Compassion International and their ministry of teaching children to dream again.
And for each of you, who continually challenge me to dream, and pray, and write vulnerably- thank you. I pray you are blessed for your perseverance of heart.
•••
Even though the five brave Compassion boys I mentioned in this blog have been sponsored, there are still opportunities for child sponsorship!
It is one of the greatest joys I've known to sponsor two strong boys, Ariel and Joffrey, through Compassion International. Watching them grow- both physically through pictures and in faith through their letters- is a blessing and never ceases to amaze me!
If you have a story about sponsorship and how it's changed your life, please message me here. OR if you have any questions about how to partner with Compassion this holiday season, you can also message me!
-May we not grow weary in doing good as we seek to be faithful to provide for those in need!
