Monday, May 11, 2015

So near to God

This is a first for me: I'm not prepping dinner. I'm writing this as my boys help my husband grill a special meal for me in honor of Mothers Day. I've turned up Spotify and am tuning out the minor bickering and choosing to be grateful for the messy-kitchen-spills, a result of their gracious attempts at a fancy meal prepared with love. My children are far from perfect - - which is fine, because so am I!  Yet, I take time today to be thankful for each of their precious lives. Both children born in my prayers and heart long before they entered my life. Both children held so near to God before they were held in my arms.

I'm thankful for each of their unique personalities, about as polar opposite as two brothers could be. I'm thankful for their silliness and laughter and constant chatter. I'm learning to be thankful for burps and body noises because it means they are healthy enough to be rambunctious. I'm thankful for stinky, sweaty socks because it means they played hard and exercised their bodies. I'm thankful for dirty dishes piled up in the sink because it means our bellies are full and content with plenty.

I'm learning to be thankful for disability because it has taught me that I can do nothing on my own, but all things through Christ. I'm thankful for disability because it opened up a new world of friendship with some spectacularly awesome families I would otherwise not have taken interest in. (Shame on me!)

I'm thankful for the wisdom and truth that God gives me on this journey. I'm thankful that every human being - - from the developing babe in the womb with Trisomy 18;  the non-verbal one with autism longing to express themselves; the orphan in Nepal who is frightened;  the beggar under the Portland bridge seeking hope; the one who is wheelchair bound craving legs to run; whether their skin be red, brown, yellow, black or white- - every person created has value in the eyes of God!

Here's a wonderful quote to remind us to dwell on the beauty of that truth:

If man really is fashioned, more than anything else, in the image of God, then clearly it follows that there is nothing on earth so near to God as a human being. The conclusion is inescapable, that to be in the presence of even the meanest, lowest, most repulsive specimen of humanity of the world is still to be closer to God than when looking up into a starry sky or at a beautiful sunset. Certainly that is why there is nothing in the new testament about beautiful sunsets.- Mike Mason -Author of "The Mystery of Marriage