There’s a book I just began reading called, “A Child Of The Native Race.” A story of woman who was born to an Indian family but taken away at 18 months old and raised by a white family. It’s a story of returning to her roots.
In her dedication the author Sandy White Hawk says this,
“
Even if we came into this world in the worst of circumstances.
We are not that circumstance; we were sacred when we were born
separate from the hardship that surrounded us.
Our life is good and has a purpose.”
“
This quote above really resonated with me in such a way. I don’t know that I can fully put into words.
It resonated with me because of my own adoption story and discovering my roots and finding my biological family. And it resonated because of my daughter, and her adoption story.
And currently, we are fostering my nephew, who we plan on adopting.
It is sad? The circumstance? In a way, yes, yes it is. And that should be acknowledged. But it is also a gift as well in it’s own way. And the gift may not be recognized until many years later (I can testify to that). This quote above affirms what I already know. That each of us are sacred, no matter how we entered this world. No matter the circumstance in which we are born into.
When we enter into this world we couldn’t be anymore pure. Each of us, first born, are so full of life, curiousity, adventure. It is the world, the pressures, the fears, the power and greed that work to steal us away from who we are. We become confused, afraid, and we feed ourselves lies.
Listen to me….
We are sacred gifts. We are miracles. We are love. You must never forget that. Never forget how significant you are. Never doubt your capabilities. You are chosen. That is the truth.
Forgive others. Forgive yourself.
Many of us DO enter this world through challenging circumstances. But how we come into this place does not define who we are. We are still chosen to be here, despite the troubles that may surround us. And we will find our way.
Lean not on your own understanding.
Live your days recognizing the gifts that surround you. Remind others that they are treasure. Help others to see how remarkable they are. We are never alone on our journey.
Discussing and sharing is healing and it’s connecting.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
The payment to live and be with God is death. We know that we are alive, and that one day, we, and everyone else will die. Death is the gateway to be with THE ONE.
Death can be thought of like taking a shower. Our earthly lives are covered in mud. We are head to toe covered in mud and gunk. And no matter what we do we can’t really get clean in this life.
Jesus let’s us know that when we die the mud will be removed. We gain peace knowing that one day, we will actually be clean and free.
This awareness brings joy. We don’t have to waste anymore time scrubbing away “this mud.” We CAN’T scrub it away anyway no matter how hard we try!
There are others who live who are still convinced that they can get clean and wipe this mud away themselves. They spend almost their whole lives scrubbing and wiping this mud, convinced that they can become clean without anyone’s help.
To die, is to truly remove the mud that is clung to each of us like wet clothes. Death is the ONLY way.
Death is a gift. Death is removing the chains of sin to be with God.
I know the talk of death is scary. It is. It’s scary because there is still much unknown what’s on the other side. It’s scary to think of the separation from the ones we love on this earthly life. But it will okay.
We have been gifted with faith and assurance that it will be okay. That we are loved. And whether we know it or not, this is something we all actually really want.
We have been given a great gift. Many want to point and blame God for the suffering in this world. However it is the suffering that will actually strengthen our bond with God, it’s the suffering that will provide understanding. To recognize the sin in this world is to cry out to God.
You are loved, always and forever. And you are never alone. May peace be with you.
You’ve probably heard someone say once or twice before, God is good. And how would you define that phrase?
I feel like I’ve had some type of revelation and I’m excited to share it. God is good.
In the past whenever I would hear that phrase I would repeat to myself, God is good. But then think, what does that even really mean?
How do we interpret that? Well for one, we can look around at nature and be astonished.
Like, are you aware of what an octopus can do! It’s pretty spectacular. That in itself points to an incredible creator.
But God also reveals his work and skills in tribals and in times of distraught.
Let me share a little story that just took place a couple of days ago. A story of my daughter getting some deep splinters and what unraveled into a spiritual lesson.
At our house we have a little wood deck that my husband actually made. Picture a yard of turf, then you can two steps onto this wood deck that bridges to a giant sand pit.
Our daughters have so much fun in our backyard. Tons of laughing and imagination. My husband and myself always say how much we love just watching our children play. It’s truly a blessing.
Well one late afternoon the girls and I had just got back from picking up a half pepperoni and half cheese pizza. The girls raced to the trampoline to play with the puppies that we just recently got (2 border collie pups, too cute. But they chew on everything!) I shouted to come inside to eat and then………
Then, I hear screaming. I look out the window and my 3 year old is sitting on the wood deck, head down, crying hysterically. Echoing through out the neighborhood. My other daughter is shouting, “‘mom! She has a splinter!” I knew it was bad. This wasn’t the first time that this type of situation has happened.
I had just sat down too and taken two bites out of my pizza. I thought of course, this is parent life. I walk over to the deck nonchalantly (I’ve learned it’s best to not react too much when they’re in distress. Makes it way worse) and look at her foot. I see it and think, shit.
There’s 2 splinters that are deep in her foot. These won’t be easy to pull out with just tweezers, she’s going to need “surgery”. I call my husband and tell him what happened. Luckily he was already on his way home from work. He tells me to soak her foot in water. I take her to the bathtub.
That was a struggle as you can imagine with a 3 year old. Although it quickly became a party in the bathroom. Her sisters were there fully supporting her. One is feeding her pizza while the other is making her laugh with silly gestures. Her foot is soaking in the water, she’s got a lollipop in her hand, a “bravery” light up watch/bracelet, and her unicorn baby doll. At this point she’s calmed down a little.
Then dad gets home.
She begins to cry hysterically all over again which I totally understand. It’s like when someone asks, “are you okay?” when you’re totally not and you begin to uncontrollably cry. We’ve all been there right?
My husband looks at her foot and with no hesitation but complete confidence says, “I can get those out.” In my head I’m thinking, ummm are you sure, did ya see her foot, and I even suggest urgent care. I reiterate that they are deep and I don’t know if he can do it. My confidence in him is slim.
He says, we’ll wait till she’s asleep. Or we can leave it and let her body reject it. I wasn’t for the latter, I wanted those wood pieces out of her tiny little foot. Splinters can be painful! We all know this.
She quickly falls asleep, I’m sure to the exhaustion of crying. My husband gets all prepped up for “surgery”. I say that with a sense of humor. Our daughter rests on our bed. I give him his space while checking periodically on the both of them.
In this inconvenient moment I think about how amazing my husband is and I think about what a great dad he is too. This is when God comes to mind and the spiritual message enters.
In this moment my husband revealed to me once again what he’s capable of. I saw him in a different light caring for our daughter, coming to her rescue, and even our other daughters took notice watching their daddy take care of their baby sister. As one of my daughters watches from afar she says, “Daddy’s my hero”.
I believe God works and reveals Himself in similar ways. How would we know how great God was if it wasn’t for the hard times. How could God show us what He’s actually capable of doing if it weren’t for those muddy waters that we get caught in? It’s in these times of fear and pain and discomfort that God steps in and says, “I got you, wait till you see how I’m going to heal you and make this better again.”
Do we trust God? Let’s be honest, not always. Like my 3 year old daughter with splinters in her foot, instead of surrendering her foot and letting us help her she held her foot close to her and kept it restricted. We had to wait till she was asleep before we could even touch it!
It’s these moments, which can be unbearable moments that actually bring us closer to God. He reveals different sides that we never knew. We learn more of Gods capabilities, powers, and healing through these moments.
My daughter getting those splinters sucked. But because of those stubborn/painful splinters I got to witness my husband caring for our daughter. So gently he took those out of her foot without her barley even noticing. My daughters watching from afar developed a new level of trust in their Daddy.
I do believe God works like this. And you know what? Yeah, God IS good. He takes unfortunate events and uses them to bring us closer to Him. God reveals that He can remove “splinters” and more. He can make those pains better. And sometimes like my 3 year old, we don’t surrender to Him. But it doesn’t even matter. He’s going to take care of us anyway.
If you want to recognize how God has been good in your life think for a moment of some difficult times. And think about the good that came from those times.
Read between the lines of your life and you’ll see and you’ll know how present God is.
Would love to hear how God has worked in your life or would love to hear a simple moment turned spiritual.
The splintersThe culprits.When he pulled the first one out.
The Wild Gems 