"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." 2 Cor 5:20
In a recent post "Jesus, walking around", which I wrote in the middle of the night, I mentioned praying about what it would really mean to love my neighbors. I woke up that morning with a surprising level of energy despite the lack of sleep and before the day was over, I decided to take a walk and actually count the houses. There are 35 houses, some empty. I had company coming for Memorial Weekend and hadn't posted since last night, but let me tell you - that middle of the night episode is expanding and connects directly to yesterday's post.
I went outside to call my son in to do homework and found him playing in my neighbor, Ashley's* yard with 4 little girls. Two belong to Ashley*, one was their friend and Ashley pointed to the other and said, "Have you met our new little friend?" I told her I hadn't and at that moment, a stunning little curly haired girl came over to pet my dog. I talked with her for a bit and when she left, Ashley* said, "Isn't she beautiful?" "Yeah she is." I said. "She has two fathers Erika." and at the "two" her eyebrows went up and so did her voice, just as I understood what she was trying to tell me. She said, "Now how do I explain that one to my girls?" My reply? "Actually, you're talking to the right person about this."
We took a walk around the block and I shared my story. I'll spare you the details except to say that my neighbor is a picture of God's grace for me. She didn't even blink when I shared the story of my father's homosexuality and the fact that I too, had "two dads" growing up. Now, if you know me and you didn't know this - I'm really, really, sorry you heard it here. In any case, understand that it reflects the glory of God even more. I'm writing a book about it so you were going to find out eventually.
Last night I stood in wonder and in awe of God and I still am. If you don't believe that He redeems your life and takes all of it's beauty, sorrow and shame and uses it to glorify Himself, you'd better start. I prayed all night for this little girl, her two fathers and thanked God He placed them in my neighborhood. For most of my life, I was unloved by Christian people who were aware of my situation but didn't want anything to do with me. How glorious it is to be able to love this little girl in a way I wasn't. I've always wondered, "Was anyone praying for me when I was a kid?" I'm not going to let these new neighbors leave this neighborhood without them experiencing the love of Christ and that little girl will not have to wonder if anyone was praying for her because she'll KNOW.
God is Beautiful :) You know I cant wait to hear more about this story!
Posted by: Leslie | 06/02/2010 at 04:04 PM