The "Big Picture"

I greatly enjoy reading the blog of a Christian wife and mother who, together with her husband, recently adopted four girls (including two newborns) from Liberia – in addition to the five young biological sons they were raising at home! What I appreciate most is how she manages to keep the “big picture” in focus, even in the midst of what must be an incredibly crazy household at times.

Recently, Jenny wrote:

Well I'm off to planting seeds of faith in the ecclectic soils of my children's hearts. My prayer today is that as I wait to see fruit I will not be waiting with my fingers drumming, feet tapping, constantly checking the clock and calandar and despairing of ever seeing a harvest. I want the waiting process to develop more passion for my Lord and His ability to bring forth the fruit in due season.

And then an earlier post of hers which really spoke to my mother-heart:

Then I look at my daily realities, and I see the piles of laundry and dishes to conquer, and I live with this tension between what I wish I could do and what I actually do. I know that raising these eternal souls for the Kingdom is no small matter, I really believe that a cup of cold water given in Jesus name has eternal significance. Yet I also have these other dreams, and I question if they are of God or just some grandiose idea I came up with. I heard someone say that the hardest part of the Chrisitan life is that it's so daily. The dailyness tends to shift me into "auto-pilot" when I need to be redeeming each moment, looking for Jesus in everything, advancing His kingdom in every choice I make.

I think we need to dream big, but we also need to live big. Like a little child who can't wait to be "all grown up" I don't want to miss out on the wonder of the process I am in, from glory to glory. I don't want to think that "real life" will happen someday in the future when Christ promised me abundant life now. When I had a half dozen kids in my bed this morning snuggling up to me, I thought, "This is the good life." Sometimes I am tempted to think "the good life" will happen once there is nobody in diapers in our home . Then I see those older than I am longing for the good old diaper days, and I resolve again to delight in today.

May I truly delight in Jesus Christ today and in the precious souls He has entrusted to our care, leaving tomorrow with all its joys and troubles in His capable hands!