everyone needs compassion

I've been challenged by Tom Davis' book Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds, in which the author primarily speaks of the AIDS/poverty crisis in Africa. In the chapter titled "an inadequate response" Davis exposes and confronts our excuses for not being more compassionate and invovled, and, frankly, brings some necessary shame on the American church as a whole.

As Christ followers, we have a theolgoical understanding of both evil and redemption. This understanding ought to compel us to show the world how to respond to suffering and indifference. Jesus knew the dangers of getting caught up in religiosity. [note the story of the good samaritan] And he wasn't afraid to speak his mind on such matters because Jesus had only one thing on his heart: what matters most to his Father.

I can only read this book in small doses because the harsh statistics and stories of everyday life of African citizens are quite disheartening. Picking up this book was actually a response to our already burden for the pandemic in Africa. But compassion is needed in more ways than response to humanitarian crises.

I confess, I haven't had "only one thing" on my heart lately. I've been consumed with and distracted by this adoption. Has my baby been born yet? Does his mother know she won't get to raise him? When will we be DTE (Dossier To Ethiopia--officially begins our wait for a referral)? Will we even have enough money to submit our dossier by the time it is finished? Etc. Etc. I've been brought back to the chorus in one of Jeremy Riddle's (my current favorite artist) songs:

Oh, to be like you
Oh, to reflect the God I know, the love you've shown
This is my longing
This is my deepest, strongest plea
LORD, change me!!

I've been so caught up in my self that I have been missing too many opportunities to reflect the Lord and his love. I knew before we started this adoption process that my obsessive personality would struggle with getting consumed by the whole thing. That's why I love this prayer. Often we pray, "Lord make me more...patient, loving...." you fill in the blank. To be like God, I don't need an increase of myself, I need to be changed!!

So, if you want to know how to pray for me through this process, pray that my eyes will be fixed on Jesus. Also, you can join me in prayer not only for the child that will become part of our family, but for the woman that will be losing him. I'm not sure who my heart breaks for the most...our baby or his mother. :(