My oldest has turned five!
Two weeks later, we celebrated turning TWO!
When she turned one, she was still in care in Ethiopia, which was rough on this Mama, but it made this year all the sweeter, as a Promise I held in my heart came true.
But what of promises that appear to have been broken? As I think of my girls, and cherish each and every day I have with them, I have to think of this family, and of 5 little girls whose birthdays will never be the same. Has the Promise been broken?
This father says NO. This father of five, still fresh with grief and only days past her last breath, can tell the world that the death of his bride is a "billboard for God's grace" on the nightly news.
By no other Name is this possible.
No other faith on this planet allows us to know for sure, as a repentant yet continual sinner, that we have eternal life in the dwelling place of our Creator, or to rejoice in times of mourning.
I praise God for giving me that Promise, the one that allows me to truly live, to truly soak in each and every moment with my family with gratitude; without being diluted by the fear of death that follows all of us until the moment that we choose to relinquish our wills to Jesus Christ and follow His steps.
When we ask Jesus about death, His answer is always Life and an Invitation. Death is inescapable for 10 out of 10 people, but Life is a choice we must make.
I choose Life. Every day; I choose Him. He writes of His love for me, and I drink in the fresh mercies of every morning spent in His company. And in that mercy, I am free to love without fear, and I learn from my own daughter what that looks like.
I hold her close; the one who used to avoid my eye contact because she was afraid to love me.
She loves me fiercely now (there's really no other word to describe it), and THAT is a miracle.
I thank God for the one whom I catch singing love songs to the Lord in the backyard, open-faced to the sky, as she gathers His creations into her hands.
I praise Him for blossoms unfolding for His glory as they grow; faces like the sun, even after too many clouds.
He reminds me that I am His daughter, and He will never leave me. He reveals the hurt in my own heart by healing the wounds of my own little girl, asking me daily to let Him in and to let Him work.
"Behold, I am making all things new."
Yes, it rings true in my heart; this Promise of healing that is to come.
He frames a new picture on our wall; and He promises a Home for His children.
I choose the Promise.
(For my Carrie; my promise cheerleader.)
