Today we received the best gift of the Christmas Season!
Background:
We have been talking with our oldest son, Matt (8 years old), about what it means to be a Christ follower for months now. We have asked him how he feels about waiting on Christ's return? His answer: He was excited, but nervous too because he wasn't sure if God had chosen him to be apart of His kingdom. We began pouring into Matt with the truth that God had already chosen him, He sent Jesus to die for him and that all God was waiting on was for him (Matt) to trust Him with his life. Matt asked some questions and we talked about this again for several nights. I finally asked him "What was stopping him from confessing to God that He needed and wanted Him to be in his heart?" He said he wasn't sure. So, that was a few weeks ago....
Today:
David Platt preached an awesome sermon about what Christmas is truly about. There were no Sunday School classes today for the children, so they were in service with us. Matt also had a friend join us for church today which made it all the more proof to me that it was God at work in his little heart. Matt usually doesn't listen much to the sermon and falls asleep if he can sneak it in on us. He is usually fully distracted when a friend is any where near us, but today was different. Matt listened so intently to the sermon and when David asked "are you certain that you are going to spend eternity in Heaven?"...I was watching Matt, but he didn't know that I was. He said "yes" and David asked several other questions about knowing Jesus as your personal Savior...Matt answered "yes" to those too. Next came communion. We have explained to him over and over that he can't join us in communion until He has asked Jesus into his heart and been baptized as a believer. Today, he was begging to participate and saying that he had asked Jesus into his heart. With tears in my eyes and joy in my heart, I said "Yes buddy, you can have mine". Seeing him take communion and be excited and joyful about it, made me thank God that much more! You pray for their hearts to seek God and for them to truly have a relationship with the Lord, but when it happens...it is such a gift. That transition from your child to your brother in Christ is as powerful as the day they became your child. We are looking forward to the discussions in the days ahead and to seeing how God will chose to use him for his glory, but for now and for this Christmas, I am rejoicing that my oldest child will be in Heaven with us one day praising our King!
I feel like our job as parents has gotten that much bigger...pray for us and for him as we help him deepen his relationship with Christ.
On the adoption front: We are still in the home study process. Keith has to complete his autobiography and individual interview. We are pushing to have the home study complete by the end of January. We have lots of Hague training ahead and completing our child desired forms. Please pray for clarity as we decide exactly what special needs we are equipped to handle and what we are not equipped for as a family. This is one of the hardest sections of the process so far. May God Bless you all and Merry Christmas!
