Adventures in Odyssey

The title of this blog does not refer to the cute TV show I watched in the mornings as a kid with my older brother. No, the adventures I am talking about are those that happen in the Honda Odyssey mini van. This mini van in which I, a sixteen year old, occasionally have to drive with three kids in the backseat. Do I feel like a mother when I drive the van? Yes, but that's not my point. When I pick the kids up from school, it is exciting to hear about their days and listen to their excitement. Yesterday, our conversation took an interesting turn when I stopped to get gas. Hope and Will were arguing about something. I turned around to explain that if Will didn't want Hope to do something to him, he shouldn't do it to her. I tilted the conversation to permeate God's turn into it. I explained that when we do mean things to each other or we disobey our parents, it makes Jesus really sad. I asked if they wanted to ale Jesus said. They all replied in unison with a 'no.' We talked about ways we could make Jesus happy instead of sad by loving others, being kind, and obeying our parents. We talked about how we need to love everybody. Hope piped in, "But not burglars right?" I explained that of course we love burglars, because Jesus died for everybody as a result of His great love for them. That is the cool thing about Jesus. They were all eager about making Jesus happy. It was so exciting to see. As we continued home, Will didn't drop the conversation and continued asking questions (Will can literally talk about one thing for hours...). He then asked, "Beth, where is Jesus?" I laughed out loud, because I knew that this one was going to be a difficult one to answer to a little boy with limited English. I said, "Well, Jesus lives in Heaven, but if you asked Jesus to come into your heart, He will." He said he understood, so I let it go there. Somehow we started discussing heaven and how we get there.

 It went a little like this: "If you ask Jesus to come into your heart, He lives in you. When you turn die (I had to explain that one a little, and it was quite interesting.), Jesus will take you to heaven." 

 Will responded trying to reaffirm what I just told him. So he furthered the conversation by asking if everyone goes to heaven. I explained that Jesus was the only way to heaven in the simplest possible way. 

 When we got home, Will ran into the house to talk to the dogs. He went to all three of our dogs individually to tell them about heaven. He said, "When you turn 100 and die, Jesus is going to come and get you and take you to heaven." If he gets this excited to tell dogs this truth, I can't wait to see his enthusiasm of giving hope to the hopeless by spreading the good news to actual humans. It's exciting to watch the Lord work in His life already. 

 Throughout the day, Will, Lena, and Hope brought the conversation back up if another one was being mean or disobedient. They would come to me and say, "Lena is making Jesus sad." Lena would respond, "No, I gonna make Jesus happy."

 With all the exciting events and experiences that we have experienced through adoption, it is conversations like these that validate what adoption is and what it is all about. The only reason we are called to take care of orphans is because of Jesus Christ. The only reason we are commanded to love the least of these is because of Jesus Christ. The only reason we adopt children is because of Jesus Christ. Through adoption, Christ has made my own home my mission field. I get to present the gospel with my action and my conversations. There is nothing more beautiful that sharing the story of our great Savior with those who I love most (even if it was literally the simplest version possible of the gospel).

 My prayer for my siblings, the kids at Children's Hope, and all others that I get to interact with is this: Do not forget the importance of the cross, the love displayed on the cross, and the power of the cross. Do not forget that God loves you, Jesus died for you, and the Holy Spirit lives in you. 

 These truths are powerful and vital to reach contentment in our walk with the Lord. The most amazing Creator and Sustainer loves you, the only Sacrifice saved us, and His presence is within us to comfort, guide, and empower us.

 Philippians 3:20- "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." 

 John 14:6, 15- "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me... If you love me, you will obey what I command." 

 Titus 3:4-7- " But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."