Many of you already know our friend Shelly Roberts from her work with the ABBA Fund, offering support and resources for adoptive families. Or you may know her from her wonderful devotional book for adoptive mothers, 31 Nuggets of Hope, a must have by the way. What a gift she is to our adoptive and foster communities! As you can see from this photo, she is the mother of 5 treasures, and we know you will be blessed by the word she is sharing with us today!
NEW HOPE
We just began a new year. As 2012 came to a close I couldn’t get over how many times people shared that they were in need of a new year. The past had been hard. Many times full of grief and pain. They “hoped” that the new year would be different. Somehow it would bring with it NEW HOPE. Can you relate?
As adoptive and fostering parents we are often faced with circumstances so far out of our control. We grow downright weary. These precious children that we said YES to many times have needs we can’t possibly meet on our own. Our limitations can cause us great anxiety. It’s easy to become discouraged, overwhelmed, and feel like a failure.
Rest often feels like some far-off-fantasy. It doesn’t have to.
TRUE REST FROM THE FATHER
TRUE REST is fully available to you and to me. It’s something this world can’t offer us. Oh, but we get tempted to think so. Getting your child into the “right specialist” can’t produce it. Landing that sought-after job won’t guarantee it. Friends can’t even supply it.
Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.
Psalm 62:5
Moms and Dads ... TRUE REST ... the kind you and I so desperately need can come only from God, our Father. In HIM is where our souls can find that deep, fulfilling rest that our weary hearts need.
Perhaps you’re excited to have a new year ahead. Maybe some things that your new year is bringing has you scared half silly. If so, you’re in good company.
I’m Momma to five blessings. Our kids all ganged up on us and in one year’s time our oldest got married, the next one is graduating high school, next one down just got his driver’s permit, next one down has been facing some pretty significant learning challenges and the baby in the family started Kindergarten. Whew! I’ve had to learn to seek out my Father for REST. And I can tell you that He is SO GOOD to provide it.
Moms, sometimes rest is found by shutting yourself in the bathroom and just crying out to your Heavenly Father. He’s THERE. He’s ABLE. He wants to MEET with you. Dads, sometimes rest is found by taking a few moments on your lunch break and shutting out all the voices and pressures from the world so you can hear from Him. Those moments with the Father can provide just what we need to keep going another few hours. Your Father doesn’t see you as a failure. He doesn’t see you as inferior. He sees you just as He CREATED YOU ... HIS CHILD. You are HIS. He loves you so deeply that your mind can’t even comprehend it.
He alone offers to be your ABUNDANT HOPE.
AN ABUNDANT SOURCE OF HOPE
The wedding was beautiful. Our family gained a wonderful daughter. I’m finding joy in planning another graduation. But there’s something more the Lord has asked of us. Something that we said “no” to for a long time. Yet Faithful Father is so patient! He pursues His children. He never gives up! This spring we’ll be cleaning up our oldest son’s room and giving it a fresh coat of paint. You see, Father asked us to say YES again. This time in a new way. We thought He was done after we adopted twice. Then last fall He asked us to shed more layers of comfortable. He pierced our hearts for those who need a safe place to go, if only for awhile. I will need to learn to be a Momma like I never have before.
So the new year ahead scares me just a bit. But more than that it draws me right back to my Father - in even deeper ways. He has so much to teach me. I’ll be needing to make sure and take those frequent moments to seek Him out to find TRUE REST ... because of HOPE. I don’t have to worry about the future. He already knows every detail. In HIM I find my abundant source of HOPE. He’s proven Himself faithful all of my life - there’s no reason to doubt Him now.
Do you need to find REST? Embrace Him as your TRUE HOPE!
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