Waterfall of Grace

It is hard to put into words how it is that the Holy Spirit nudges people into doing something outside what is comfortable. For us, it was a process of evaluating questions like, "Why are we really here on this earth?" "Who is our provider?" "What are our goals for the future and do they align with God's heart and kingdom?"

God used those questions to invite us to walk a new path with Him that looks scary, unpredictable, full of risk and downright impossible as we signed up to adopt these four children from Ethiopia. But it all depends on your perspective.

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote about the time he sensed God's call to pursue a second adoption from China. He describes the moment where he knew God wasn't forcing him to make this choice but the door of opportunity was presented:

God [seemed to be] saying, "I delight in setting the lonely in families, so I'm going to keep pouring out my love for orphans, and I'm looking for hearts to pour it into. I'm looking for people who really want to do what I'm doing."

He didn't say, "If you don't do this, I'm going to be disappointed with you." Instead, it's as if, as a Dad, God put His arm around me and said, 'You don't have to do this, but I'm inviting you in, because I want you to know Me, and I want our relationship to go deeper. If you really want to see Me show up, I want to take you on another adventure."

So I broke the news to my family and told them, "I think God wants us to bring another child to stand under the waterfall of grace." I just pictured God pouring out His grace, inviting us to bring another child to stand under it. God was saying, "I'm going to bring them into my family, but I want to invite you to be a part of that. I'm going to glorify myself through this."

Steven Curtis' Chapman's description of a 'waterfall of grace' turns the fear and sacrifice of something like this on its face. God is calling His people -- even the small, helpless orphans of this world that don't even have a full name and birthdate -- to Himself! They are already His and of infinite value to Him! And we are being invited to join Him in this endeavor. What a precious privilege it is to be the hands and feet that bring these children to stand under that waterfall. And as we stand there embracing these children under that waterfall, are we not also the recipients of that abundant grace?

'And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness-- secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.' -- Isaiah 45:3