I received a message the other day from a friend. She sent the picture above with a little note that said, "Soon you will be driving through these gates in an old van packed full of luggage, to meet your son." This gate is the entrance to the orphanage where our son will be. The message brought me to tears. In this place that looks so cold and lifeless our baby will be waiting. And our God will redeem! That iron gate that looks like a prison will be a gate of hope. Hope for us as a reminder that we have a goal and one day, Lord willing, we will get through that gate and reach our baby boy.
But also hope for him. You see I love the story in the Bible of Joseph. You can read about it in Genesis chapters 37-45. Joseph's brothers were extremely jealous of him. They hated him. And one day they threw Joseph in a well and sold him to some slave traders. They came back to their father and told him that his son had been eaten by a lion. A lot of really awful things happen to Joseph after being sold to Egyptian slave traders. But through it all Joseph served God and remained faithful to Him. He was even falsely accused of rape and thrown into prison. God allowed Joseph to interpret dreams and many years after he had been sold into slavery God allowed Joseph to interpret a dream that the Pharaoh had. The dream meant that the land of Egypt would have 7 years of plenty to be followed with 7 horrible years of famine. The Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph that he put him in charge of storing up food and ultimately giving out rations during the famine. It was during the famine that Joseph meets his brothers for the first time in almost 20 years. They came to get food from the stores. When they realized they were dealing with their brother that they had treated so harshly they were terrified. Joseph responded to them in this way in Genesis 45:5-7
"And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance."
What Joseph's brothers intended for harm God used for good.
And what Satan intends for evil in the life of our son God can redeem and use for good!
4 comments:
Jessica, Your son will be so blessed to have such wonderful parents such as you and Todd. You both have such huge hearts! We wish you the best of luck with your journey. Love, Tonya & Mike
Nice! One of the many things I love about Wide Horizons is how much care and love those babies are given. The nannies fall in love with them and they are given AWESOME care. I think of those gates as the opening to a little haven in the middle of the city!
Aimee-
I love your descriptions of how well the babies are cared for! I know that from everything you told me Wide Horizons House will be taking excellent care of our little man! I wasn't doubting his care there. I was thinking more in terms of the loss and pain he will have suffered in his life. And how Satan intends that for evil. But our God can use it for good!
love this!
Post a Comment