Faith of a Child

I recently volunteered to teach the middle school Sunday School class at our church. Yes, you read that correctly. Volunteered. Middle School. Yes, I’m crazy.

Honestly, middle school was extremely difficult for me. I feel like I’m not too old to be considered irrelevant to these kids, still have the memories of what it felt like to be in a tumultuous home with turbulent hormones, and have the Biblical knowledge coupled with the true Spiritual transformation to make what I hope will be a lasting impression on the kids. So I volunteered.

I was excited to teach this group of very diverse children. There were twelve kids in the class, with a nice mix of homeschooled and public school kids, adopted and birth children, mostly two-parent families but some living with grandparents or from broken homes. I had a few main goals going into the class. One was to show them that God really does answer prayers. Two, to get them into a routine of reading their Bible daily. Three, to help them view the world from a Christian perspective.

To start off the class I gave each young person a prayer journal that they will write in each week. I shared with them the prayer journal that I am keeping in specific regards to our adoption finances and the timing of paperwork. One of the students asked how much it cost to adopt from China. I hesitated to answer because it’s always a difficult topic to broach. However, every kid in the class had their eyes glued to me. They were eager to know. And I realized that if I told them, then could prove to them how God is faithful in answering our prayers to help bring this girl home from China then He would be glorified. Not only will he be glorified in my mind and in my family’s mind, but it would prove to these middle school kids who are at such an impressionable age that we can trust God to take care of us. That He is good. That He is our provider. So I told them. Thirty-five thousand dollars. Their eyes bugged out and their jaws dropped. But I reminded them; God provides. He is faithful. And we prayed together.

At the end of the class, one young boy came up to me after everyone else had left the room and gave me fifty cents. This was his weekly tithe and he wanted me to have it towards our adoption. This meant so much to me. I wrote his name and his donation in my prayer journal. And here’s the thing. He didn’t do this for attention. He did it privately after the other kids had left. I was moved.

The next week he came in and gave me a dollar, declaring he decided that he wanted me to have both his tithe and his offering. A double measure. And the kids asked immediately, “How did God provide this week?”

My face when I see God's goodness!

They had faith that God would have moved others in that one week we were apart to give. And they were right. We had received a $200 check. Later that Sunday the boy’s younger sister reached back and handed me fifty cents.

While their donations may seem small, they are not. They are such an encouragement to me.

Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Such a small amount of faith is required. The money these young people have given represent that to me. I write their donations down exactly the same as I write down the larger donations.

I want to share a few verses that have often encouraged me with I feel like my faith is small, when things seem too hard, and I’m discouraged. This story is about a boy who is demon possessed. Jesus’ disciples tried to drive out the spirit, but they could not. Jesus asks that the boy be brought to him.

Mark 9:21-24 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often throw him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Jesus goes on to drive the evil spirit out and privately discussed with the disciples that this kind of spirit can only come out by prayer.

This story shows me that faith, prayer, and action are all related. It proves that in our weakest moments, when we want to believe but still have doubts, if that smallest mustard seed sized faith is there, that everything is possible.

The reason I wanted to share the story of the boy in my Sunday School class with you is to help you grow in your faith. He already has faith that his donation will help make a difference in a little girl’s life. I read in George Muller’s autobiography (highly recommend, by the way) that his main reason for starting orphanages in Bristol was not to help the orphans. It was to prove to Christians that God answers prayer. He never asked for money, only prayed that God would provide the finances to fund the orphanages. And He did, without fail. Sometimes they were eating the last of the food in the house, and God would move the heart of some individual to provide literal bread and milk. They didn't even always understand why they felt the urge to give what they believed God was asking them to give, but they obeyed. 

This is why I share with you the dollar amount we need to bring home sister six. Obviously, the donations are going to change the life of one little girl in China, but I hope it will do more than that. I hope that my friends who have considered international adoption but feel that the finances are insurmountable would be encouraged that God will provide. I hope those who donate can realize that they are doing the work of the Lord. I hope that whatever difficult situation you are facing today that you will turn to the God who loves you, who is real, who is alive and active in our lives, and that you will pray. God loves His children and wants to give them good gifts, whether that gift is more patience, a person who can be your friend, an individual who can support you as you struggle with a child who has a special need, or someone who is a good listener. Most of all, I hope you’ll remember that God answers prayers.

We don’t want to stay in the place like the boy’s father in Mark 9, where we believe, but have some unbelief. I imagine that after Jesus drove the demon from the boy, the man’s faith was increased. This is what God does for me on a regular basis. I believe that God will provide for the adoption, and He moves the hearts of individuals to support us, and my faith is increased. It doesn’t stay in the same place of desiring to believe but having reservations.

I hope you are encouraged, my friends. God is good!

Maggie is 8!

I'm a month late on this post, but hey, I'm getting it done now, and that's what counts, right? Right.

He's not a red-headed Scotsman and I guess people don't arrange marriages anymore.... but.... 

Maggie is eight! It's hard to believe that my tiniest baby is now eight. She is still very small for her age, but don't let her stature fool you. Maggie has a larger than life personality.

This year Maggie is in second grade. She has a late August birthday and was a premature birth so we ended up holding her back a year in school by doing pre-first since she struggled to learn to read. I'm happy to report that the extra year was exactly what was needed and she is now a fantastic reader.

Reading to sisters

Maggie is playing soccer for the third year. This is her first year on U10 girls for Solanco. She is the smallest girl on her team (although there are a couple girls not much bigger than she is). Maggie is also the least aggressive player on the team. It's interesting to watch my children grow up and see how they are similar to me and how completely different from me they are (as in I had uncontrollable rage on the soccer field).

So glad these two are on the same team!

In many ways, Maggie's personality is very much like mine was at her age. She loves almost everything and has so much joy and zest for life. But she can also have rather wild emotional swings where she feels like everybody hates her and it's the worst day ever. Or maybe that's just all girls? haha!

Maggie is going through some tough "phases" right now. She has become a very picky eater, she doesn't like to be called Magdalena (even though it's her full name and very beautiful), she cries a lot, the smallest things set her off, argues with her oldest sister, despises cleaning up ("But I didn't get it ouuuuuuuut!!!") and she can be tough to parent.

However, while I hope these negative things will turn around in the near future, there is so much joy in who Maggie is right now. Maggie really loves the simple things in life. She often tells me that she doesn't need presents, being together with family is the best gift. (But she does like receiving a well-thought out gift). Maggie loves toads; if being a toad catcher was a job, she would be rich. When Maggie grows up she hopes to discover a new kind of bug that hasn't been found before. She still hopes to marry a red-headed Scotsman and have a dozen red-haired, freckle-faced kids. As you can likely guess by her desired number of children, Maggie loves babies. She is very good with both of her younger sisters, a natural little mama.

Creature lover!

It's tough being the middle child (that was me!). She wants very much to be doing what big sisters are doing and not be thought of as a baby, but she still loves to play. While Abbey and Anne tend to want to read quietly or play a game in their free time, Maggie still is creatively imagining new worlds, making her animals talk, and going on adventures. Thankfully she has two younger sisters who are now benefitting from her guidance into all things creative. Ruth and Carrie really look up to Maggie. The three of them are creating a special bond this school year. Some of Maggie's work is too simple for her, so to make it a little different she is reading those assignments out loud to the younger girls. Not only are the little girls getting added Bible lessons taught by a dear sister, but Maggie is practicing her reading aloud skills. I've noticed since they started doing this four weeks ago that these three have been playing together more regularly. Carrie has asked Maggie to read to her before nap instead of mommy.

It's always so interesting to see family resemblances between my sisters' kids, my cousins' kids, and my own. Maggie shares similar features with several cousins and second cousins on my side, yet doesn't share any of those features with her siblings.

Second Cousins with matching eyes

On her actual birthday the girls and I all drove up to Hershey Children's Hospital to donate the Build-a-Bears we had made. Since we were in the area, we went over to Hershey Chocolate World and did the free tour. All the kids loved it. We got a light lunch (Burger King fries count as a light lunch, right?) then grabbed slushies from Turkey Hill. It was her best day ever. Oh, and we didn't do school that day, so also a big win in her book! For her date with her dad they went to That Fish Place where she got a beta fish she named Lava, then Isaac's for lunch. She spent a glorious weekend at her Mema's house where they did untold number of enjoyable things. Trent's parents have started taking the birthday girl to do something special when they turn eight. They took Maggie on an Amish buggy ride, and got Amish root beer. As you can clearly see: Eight is Great!

Maggie is a sweet, sweet girl! We are so thankful to have her as a special part of our family. Happy 8th birthday! We love you and can't wait to see what this year holds for you!