Will You Be Radically Used by God?

I am utterly and extremely exhausted. Mekonen is napping and I decided to take the plunge and get a couple hours of rest myself. But lo and behold, 4 beautiful faces keep coming to mind, and I literally cannot sleep. These four beautiful girls are living at the Layla House orphanage in Ethiopia (where Mekonen was), waiting for a forever family. The thing is, their time is running out. If these girls are not adopted soon, they will never have a family. They are quickly approaching the age limit of adoption in Ethiopia. It's difficult to think of what their life is going to be like if no one comes for them. This, is keeping me awake. This is making my heart incredibly restless.

I just can't imagine. Imagine it... imagine what these girls are thinking and feeling every night as they go to bed, hoping and praying that someone comes for them, and soon. They know that with every passing day that they don't receive word that there's a family for them, is one day closer to them stepping out of Layla into a scary, difficult life, not stepping out of Layla with a renewed sense of life and hope. I just cannot imagine the anxiety that fills their hearts. That fills the hearts of these beautiful girls, made in God's image, that He loves dearly. While making Mekonen's adoption lifebook video, I was watching lots of clips from Ethiopia. I saw these girls in one of the videos at the goodbye party. Their faces were sad watching all the names of the babies and younger kids being called up front with their new families. The drums were sounding, the kids were singing loudly and cheering. These girls were participating, but you could also tell by their faces they were wondering if their party would ever come.

Imagine your daughters, nieces, etc., at 14 and 15, with no family, being forced out of the only "security" they've known, the orphanage, into a life without a family in a difficult place. My mind has to stop there. It has to. I just can't do it.

My plea is for a family, someone to step up, and do it, just do it! Take the plunge of the greatest ride you will ever be on. Take the plunge in trusting that God is more powerful than we could ever dream and has things for our lives that are more incredible than we could ever imagine. I wonder how many times we miss incredible blessings because we simply don't take that huge, next step. Adoption is not about "a feeling," "a calling," "a question of God's will or not," sometimes it's just something you get up and you do.  Maybe, just maybe, God has a family make-up for you that you never even dreamed of.

So, without further ado, I will introduce these beautiful ladies. If you are interested and want to see their pictures, let me know.

 (I can only use first name initials for them on here). M and K are sisters ages 14 and 15.  While M loves to sing and wants to record her own album of love songs some day, K is more interested in playing soccer and other sports. K remembers many funny stories of their original family like hiding porridge under the bed and her father trying to test to see if they had eaten sugar. M's fondest memory, however, is a year she spent at her brother's house being cared for after an illness.  Both of these girls are popular in the compound at Layla and both are interested in returning some day to build homes for the homeless in Ethiopia.

K is 14.  She would like to become a dentist some day.  She is very neat and organized and describes herself as reserved.  She hopes to return to Layla House and adopt a child from there.  Her best memory is of getting to see her Mother after three months to say good bye to her before she died. Her name means "Promise" in the language of Ethiopia.

M is 15.  She is active and outgoing and loves playing soccer and ping pong.  She wants to remember always her original family as well as the country she came from and hopes to one day find a husband who is a "good man."  While M admits she sometimes has a short temper, she also says that, "when there is love, there is everything."

Please, consider these girls. See them, their lives, and your lives, through the eyes of Jesus. (And yes, we have already inquired to our agency about those about to age out of orphanage, but we were told we were a little too young). 

Despite whatever lies Satan might be trying to tell you, do you think God is calling you to live a Radical life, one with a globally minded purpose that makes much of Jesus by offering life to someone who needs it? After all, didn't Jesus do the same for us?