Sometimes the Best Things are Unseen

I was having lunch at The Cheesecake Factory with my best friend, Melissa, on Friday [BTW: never look at their nutritional information...it's enough to send you into an eating disorder], and she said something so profound: Sometimes the best work that God is doing isn't something you can see at first.

Think about pregnancy. Some of my best girls are preggers right now: Melissa, Cassidy, Sarah Beth, Betsy. You can't totally see what's changing inside of them, but you know something is being birthed in them that's life-changing. Life is being created within them.

Think about your greatest seasons of growth. Could you see the transformation at first? Could you articulate what was happening inside of you? Did your life at first fully reflect the change occurring beyond the naked eye? I doubt it.

Such has been my journey. The best things that have happened to my soul's growth and my character's formation have been unseen at first. It's part of the mystery of God that I so adore now. It's part of the cocooning of a caterpillar into a butterfly [see one of my first posts]. It's part of that connection to the Creator of the Universe that shapes me more into his likeness. It's part of the healing and humbling process that allows me to be more of me and less of an imposter.

I have to agree with Mel - sometimes the best things are unseen.

Bono's Holy Discontent

Who doesn't love Bono the rock star and the social activist? If you don't love him, please don't tell me. I might cry.

Bono actually got his start in his life-quest of ending extreme poverty 20 years ago after performing at a day-long "Live Aid" concert. It was a celebrity studded event that was put on to raise money for Ethiopian famine victims. After that event, his heart was captured. Privately, Bono and his wife, Ali, hopped on a plane to Ethiopia to see first hand what was happening there. Holy discontent was birthed. That trip...

"forced him to stare into the eyes of starving children in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, who didn't even have the energy to stand up to greet him. Bono's
simple response to that experience rekindled the firestorm that was deep in his
soul: 'I will not be in a world where [this reality] continues to be true.'" [Holy Discontent, Hybels]

I think Jesus talked about this when he talked about his followers bringing heaven to earth. I think it's called the Lord's Prayer. :)

There's a lot in this world that should move us to that kind of passionate, desperate, all-consuming action. I'll never be Bono. But I know I can be the best April Diaz at changing this world, bringing a little more heaven to earth, and changing the plight for some. Another reason "why" we are adopting.

Mother Teresa's Holy Discontent

I read most of Holy Discontent [Bill Hybels] yesterday on a 45 minute flight from Chicago to Indy. I've become more deeply stirred about the holy discontents in my life: African orphans, the next generation, and advocacy for women.

Apparently, one of Mother Teresa's first experiences with holy discontent involved Ethiopia. She was quoted on CNN saying,

"When I see waste, I feel angry on the inside. I don't approve of
myself getting angry, but it's something you can't help after seeing
Ethiopia."

This describes some of my heart when it comes to "why" are adopting. There's a waste of resources - time, money, house space, ability - in the U.S. and I believe we have a biblical responsibility to turn waste into blessing. I think when God Abraham that he was "blessed to be a blessing" [Genesis 12], he's still telling us that today.

Mother Teresa is wickedly challenging to me still. I waste food, paper, resources, and time nearly every day. I wish it made me angrier. Mother Teresa is a saint. I hope I keep learning how to turn waste into blessing.

I've seen Africa, and know that even our waste is needed in Africa. Can you turn your waste into blessing?