35


To date, we have seen 35 different children come through our doors in the last 3 1/2 years.

35.

We were discussing some past kids a few days ago and went back and counted each one and were a bit rocked by the number.

I mean, I know we have met, lived with, cried with, loved on a lot of kids.  But 35?  And we aren't done yet.

All I can say is that "His grace is sufficient."

We were in the van the other night and one of our girls asked if we remember all the names of the kids we have worked with.

"Of course.  We give each one of you kids a piece of our hearts.  And we remember where those pieces go."  That kinda just came out.  I didn't rehearse that line before I said it but once it was said I knew it was my heart speaking.

Aren't there days when some things just feel huge?  You look at the big mountain of challenge ahead of you and think that there is no way you can scale that one.

It could be a job, a relationship, the mundane tasks of life, or mothering babies/toddlers/tweens/teens.

Yeah, me too.  The thought of loving and caring for 35 kids seems pretty heavy.  And of course, they haven't all came at once.  But I kinda feel the weight of all those souls adding up.

But this is the work we were called to and signed up for.  I hope these kids will continue to let us be a part of their lives and, when they fall, will know they can call us because we care, and no matter what, we love them.

Whew. That's a tall order on my part.  I'm glad I've got the Lord to fall back on.  He's the one where the strength and compassion and wisdom comes from when we face those hard times with these kids.

We need to stop thinking we can do this on our own.  Yeah, we say we need the Lord, but are we living like we need Him?  or is He just in our back pocket for when things get a little rocky?

I need Him for those days of sunshine.  I need Him for those days of rain.  And those blah cloudy days in between.

We wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children...we were given this hope when we were saved.  If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it.  But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently for it.  Romans 8:23-25

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