Adoptable

I've thinking about adoption lately. My husband and I have recently relocated and have been adopted into the fold of his extended family. I'm watching one of his cousin's little ones they plan to adopt. I'm thinking of the Christian woman and in time, the entire church who adopted me and led me to Christ. I'm thinking how, as a church, we are brothers and sisters by adoption. I'm thinking of being an adopted daughter of God.

The amazing thing about adoption is nobody ever feels adopted. They feel as though they are and have always been a part of it all; at least they should feel like that. If not, maybe we should be investing more into relationships so that feeling is there. My husband has 3 adopted siblings yet I have never heard him refer to them as "my adopted brothers and sisters." They just are, and always have been; and one of the siblings came when she was 9!

My entire life I yearned for a functional, larger family filled with love. At times I feel I've arrived and other times I know there is still work to be done. So, let's adopt each other! I mean, really adopt each other. Invite someone over for dinner you don't know well. Help someone out you aren't very well acquainted with. Take someone to lunch. Take someone's children so they can go out; or better yet, get rid of the kids and do a couple's date. Invest, invest, invest!

"Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" Romans 8:"23

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy adn blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." Ephesians 1:4-6

Faux Conversations

Why do I use the word "faux?" Because it's fancy! And, for quite some time I've been observing the conversations that surround me, whether I'm with a group of friends or amongst different people as we go about our daily activities. Most of the time I hear a lot of "filler" or "fluff." Everyone is talking but they're really not talking about anything. My favorite is sitting in a restaurant and listening to people who, for 30 minutes, talk about the other restaurants they've eaten at! I think faux conversations keep us in a fog and I think it's exactly what Satan wants.

Don't worry; I don't think every waking minute of our lives should be deep and philosophical. We don't want our heads to explode! But I do think the precious moments we have outside of our everyday demands should be purposeful because there are so few. If I've been alone, with kids, or at work in a cubicle all day I want to talk about my life and hear about yours. I guess if all you do is go to restaurants I'll have to adjust myself to that talk, but I'd wager there is more to you than that.

Why would Satan want us to focus more on fluff than each others' personal lives? Because it gives him power. If he can stop people from investing in God, each other, or ourselves then he is a quiet, creeping menace that keeps us from fulfillment in Jesus and our brothers and sisters in Christ. C.S. Lewis' book The Screwtape Letters is a VERY powerful book to me. Consider: "Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile - Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end."

So the next time you’re with somebody, who is not your best friend whom you share everything with, consider really wanting to know how and who that person is and asking them, and even directing the conversation towards things that matter when the other, unconsciously out of habit, keeps things superficial. Don’t let noise and fakeness rule your relationships. It's easy to do. I struggle with it myself.


God Bless You,
Barbara