My firstborn...she wears it like a badge of honor, really. The day we sat in that little restaurant by the sea and she couldn't eat a single thing on the menu...that was the day I knew she "got it." As the one beside her mourned the fact that she couldn't taste the yummy goodness, my firstborn said it without a single pause or hesitation: "My mommy and I don't wish I could taste it. God has let us help so many people because of my food allergies! And He has given us friends we never would have had if I didn't have these allergies."
Oh, child, to have your faith! Your mommy is beyond grateful for the friends God has given us, for the way He's allowed us to minister to others with the same struggle.
But there are days . . .
Truth be told, as she stands at the brink of her teenage years, there are days she also wishes for a different reality . . . or that, somehow, her reality didn't make her "different."
When she went to camp this summer, and we packed all of her food for all 15 meals . . .
When she left the next week to fly overseas on mission, and we stuffed her suitcase full of food for 30 meals...and sighed with relief when her bag weighed in at only 44 pounds . . .
When she was diagnosed last week with pneumonia, and the medicine that was meant to make her well contained just a trace of that allergen, and things didn't go so well . . .
When she watches her friends eat the things she'd love to taste, and she chooses not to eat at all because she doesn't want to draw attention...to be different because the only safe thing is different . . .
But isn't that what God has called us to? And somehow, isn't she learning it in a tangible way every day?
Somehow, the very "separateness" to which He has called us, she is living out with every meal, aware with every bite that she has to choose life that she might live. Every morsel becomes a physical representation of that spiritual truth, a reminder of the call God has placed on her life to be in this world but not of it.
It doesn't make it easy. But where has God said this life would be easy? His yoke? Yes, easy. Life in this world? Not so much.
It isn't always fun. But where has God promised it would be? Abundant? Yes, to the full. Always fun? Not this world. It's not our home.
And when I see it that way, I'm grateful.
Because she doesn't let it stop her. She doesn't let it hold her back. She embraces the days and every opportunity with a tenacious will to take hold of abundant life!
Because she went to camp, and she made it safely through, and that in itself was a miracle! And the bonus? She loved every minute!
Because she went overseas on mission, and she made it safely home, and that still leaves me in awe. And the best part? Lord willing, she's going back next year...and she has plans in place to take her friends!
Because she isn't always able to taste the yummy treats on the tables around her . . .
but she has tasted of the LORD, and she will tell you...
Continuing to count His gifts and grace . . .
#1484 her calm in the storm
#1485 that she takes these things in stride
#1486 her resilience
#1487 an on-the-ball pharmacist
#1488 a doctor who takes time
#1489 husband cooking dinner
#1490 and washing dishes
#1491 boy-child and his friend sitting on the driveway talking
#1492 dodge-ball with middle-schoolers - on trampolines!
#1493 adults who'll sleep on the concrete floor to invest in kids
#1494 student ministers who speak truth
#1495 my two kids on the floor playing games
#1496 listening to him practice guitar
#1497 hearing her practice the trumpet
#1498 finding a canvas in the cabinet for her to paint
#1499 rest
Oh, child, to have your faith! Your mommy is beyond grateful for the friends God has given us, for the way He's allowed us to minister to others with the same struggle.
But there are days . . .
Truth be told, as she stands at the brink of her teenage years, there are days she also wishes for a different reality . . . or that, somehow, her reality didn't make her "different."
When she went to camp this summer, and we packed all of her food for all 15 meals . . .
When she left the next week to fly overseas on mission, and we stuffed her suitcase full of food for 30 meals...and sighed with relief when her bag weighed in at only 44 pounds . . .
When she was diagnosed last week with pneumonia, and the medicine that was meant to make her well contained just a trace of that allergen, and things didn't go so well . . .
When she watches her friends eat the things she'd love to taste, and she chooses not to eat at all because she doesn't want to draw attention...to be different because the only safe thing is different . . .
But isn't that what God has called us to? And somehow, isn't she learning it in a tangible way every day?
Somehow, the very "separateness" to which He has called us, she is living out with every meal, aware with every bite that she has to choose life that she might live. Every morsel becomes a physical representation of that spiritual truth, a reminder of the call God has placed on her life to be in this world but not of it.
It doesn't make it easy. But where has God said this life would be easy? His yoke? Yes, easy. Life in this world? Not so much.
It isn't always fun. But where has God promised it would be? Abundant? Yes, to the full. Always fun? Not this world. It's not our home.
And when I see it that way, I'm grateful.
Because she doesn't let it stop her. She doesn't let it hold her back. She embraces the days and every opportunity with a tenacious will to take hold of abundant life!
Because she went to camp, and she made it safely through, and that in itself was a miracle! And the bonus? She loved every minute!
Because she went overseas on mission, and she made it safely home, and that still leaves me in awe. And the best part? Lord willing, she's going back next year...and she has plans in place to take her friends!
Because she isn't always able to taste the yummy treats on the tables around her . . .
but she has tasted of the LORD, and she will tell you...
He is good!
Continuing to count His gifts and grace . . .
#1484 her calm in the storm
#1485 that she takes these things in stride
#1486 her resilience
#1487 an on-the-ball pharmacist
#1488 a doctor who takes time
#1489 husband cooking dinner
#1490 and washing dishes
#1491 boy-child and his friend sitting on the driveway talking
#1492 dodge-ball with middle-schoolers - on trampolines!
#1493 adults who'll sleep on the concrete floor to invest in kids
#1494 student ministers who speak truth
#1495 my two kids on the floor playing games
#1496 listening to him practice guitar
#1497 hearing her practice the trumpet
#1498 finding a canvas in the cabinet for her to paint
#1499 rest
Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!
Psalm 34:8, NLT
