Who I Am

Yesterday my pastor preached a sermon based on the life of Joseph from Genesis 37:1-11. The statement of his message that reached out and grabbed hold of my heart was this: "You have to know who you are to make it through difficult times." The reason it was so powerful to me is because I don't live like I know who I am. I live defeated, discouraged, and drowned in the worries of life way too often. I forget that I am a child of the King. I tend to forget what being adopted into the family of God means.

As my pastor pointed out in his sermon I am not JUST saved from an eternity in hell. Christ did not merely save me (which is more than I deserve or can comprehend), He adopted me into his family and made me a joint heir with Christ! I can testify that there is no difference between the love a parent has for their natural child and a child brought into the family through adoption. I actually forget at times that our Sweet G did not grow under my heart but instead he grew in it. He is mine as sure as T is mine. There is no difference. Sometimes I look into his face and see Joey and I in it. I believe the reason is because of my deep love for him. If I, a sinful human, can love so deeply and unconditionally how can I not know that God is capable of love that deep? My love for G does not depend on his actions or his worthiness. I love him because he is mine. Oh, how foolish I am to forget that I am God's precious child.

The things most people would consider flaws in my Sweet G are the things that I love the most about him. He has the sweetest freckled face that I have ever seen and I love pulling him onto my lap and memorizing the patterns they make while trying to see if there are more than there were the last time I looked. Because of G's disability we carry him often. When the path we are taking is too difficult for him to traverse or if the journey is long and he gets tired along the way we carry him. That is a perfect picture of our relationship to our Heavenly Father. He carries me when I am burdened with the things of this world. When I am afraid and unsure He takes me by the hand and gives me the confidence to carry on.

How foolish I am to so easily forget the love my Father has for me. He gave me a perfect illustration of His love when He allowed me the privilege of being a mother to first T and eventually G. They are mine and I love them no matter what. I may be disappointed when they make decisions that I don't agree with but that will never change the fact that they are mine and I will always love them and be here for them.

As I go to sleep tonight I do so with the realization that I am a child of the King. I am loved. I am accepted. I am adored and while I sleep He will sing over me.