A Beautiful Thing

Not long ago God pressed upon my heart a vision that's pretty big, so big in fact that I haven't been able to figure out where to start.  I've been pretty restless, waiting on Him to show me the next step.  Truth be told, I’ve tried to take a few steps lunged ahead of the Lord just to see if I could get a peak at where we’re going. If you can picture my goofy bloodhound Jethro trying unsuccessfully to drag me down the path to the barn, his head bouncing every which way, while every now and then I yank back on the leash and say, “You’re going the wrong way!”…THAT’S ME rushing ahead of the Lord, losing sight of where he’s leading me and trying to forge my own path! As you can imagine, the happenings haven't been very pretty!

Ya’ll, I am such a MESS sometimes!  I know lots of you will think I have CLEARLY lost my mind when I tell you this… and some of you have already told me so…but here goes anyway.  During the past 3 months I have applied and interviewed at a few local agencies for full time adoption/foster care social worker positions.  I know, I know.  I have enough going on at home, what with 7 kids and a husband always out of town.  How in the world do I have time to work? Well….the answer is, I don’t…but that’s not important right now.  What’s important right now is I have learned my lesson, and I’m sharing it here so that if you see my resume come across your desk, you’ll stop what you’re doing immediately and PRAY for me ‘cause somethin’s up! 

From the first application to the phone interview where Riley picked up the living room extension just as Blake gave his best WWE holla while power-slamming wild man to the couch, this whole process has been one humiliation after another.  I am just beginning to get to the point where I almost do something other than sob hysterically when I think about the calamity of that phone call.  One day I know it will be just as funny as the Super Nanny humiliation [that I’ll have to tell you about later], but for now it ranks right up there with the most embarrassing moments of my life. 

In my defense, it was a snow day and the kids were stark raving mad. There was no way to get away from the madness that is the Robinson home.  I had NO idea we even had an extension in the family room.  Where did that come from anyway?

As you can probably guess I was not offered a job or even a follow up interview.  Actually, I didn’t receive a response from any of the agencies where I interviewed.  Right about now I’m rethinking that $45,000 Master’s Degree in Social Work I just had to have 3 years ago, but that’s a whole nother can of psychobabble that’s best left for another day. 

So....I handed up the tangled mess I made of the vision He gave me [again], and He began to transform it back [again] into His work and not mine.  While a career in social work is clearly not where God is taking me right now, his mighty hands have not been idle.  He has done a beautiful thing [for me]....well, it is probably not really about me at all, but for just a minute tonight I'm making it about me, enjoying how it feels to realize [yet again] that He is always faithful [to me, but not just to me]. I can’t wait to share more, but it’s not time quite yet.  In the meantime, I wait…

Psalm 130: 5, 6: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.”

And while I wait, I have the hope that comes from His word...and I read blogs. Tonight I clicked on over to Babe of My Heart...because lately Andrea has (unknowingly, since she doesn't know me) been writing personal messages just for ME on her blog.  I was planning to reread this post for the fifth time,  in part because it says this:     

One last word of encouragement - as you seek to do the will of God, the Lord will bring MANY to walk with you. ---Andrea Young.  

And that is so beautiful...and TRUE.  But before I could get to the post I saw she had posted this....(Scroll to the bottom and press pause on my playlist player before you play this video. That way you'll be able to hear it.)

Such a beautiful group of people...Beautiful music...Beautiful hearts....Beautiful families....Just makes me so happy to know how God has brought so many together through this journey, and he continues to add to the number.  Thank you, Jesus, for showing me how to love like you love.  We are all children of God!