Look at your long hair, with no grays peeping through. Look at his pre-beard baby face and the way the lights hit your eyes. Within the next 5 years of this picture your heart will break open when you realize how many foster kids are in your valley and how few foster families there are. You will do the thing you said you would never do and bring home a little boy. You would care for his mother and encourage her to give the new life growing inside of her a chance and you would watch a beautiful adoption story unfold because of it. You would see that little boy reunited with his Mom. You’d go on to advocate and speak at events and urge the church to move towards filling this gap and even write a book. You’d say yes to a little girl outside of your preferred age range and you’d raise her for two years before releasing her back into a broken and unknown situation. You would weep more than you ever thought possible. You would be ready for a long break of rest and healing. But then you’d hear the words “it is cancer” and you’d weep even more. You’d question God, you’d fear more than you ever had in your life. You’d feel like you had been abandoned and then wonder if that is even okay for a Pastor to feel? You would question your call to ministry. Your hair would speckle with grays and so would his beard. You’d chop of that long hair and shave one side out of anger, defiance and resistance. You would not be able to muster the courage to fight- but you didn’t have to, because your community did it for you. They rose up and interceded for you. They prayed over you and stood in the gap for you because you could not stand. God has been with you this whole time.He has shown Himself to you in the meals brought over, the gifts for your kids who are struggling to grasp what is happening, the doorstep coffee drop offs and meal cards, the offers to do your laundry and clean your house and bring you fresh eggs. The cards flowing in from the mailbox and neighbors bringing over lysol. God has used His people to bring you comfort and the body of Christ and your community around you will not let you sink and you will be okay. You can do hard things.
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