takeaways - Created for Care

I am finally getting a few quiet moments to myself to share some thoughts from the Created for Care retreat.

Oh how wonderful it was!

I’m hoping and praying that the lessons learned will seep into my life and pour over into this online space for weeks and months and years to come.

It meant so much to me personally to attend the retreat. For one, it was in March which marked three years of being “in the process”. I expected March to be difficult and anticipated the retreat with a heavy heart.

I also discovered, exactly one week before I left town, that I would return to an increased level of craziness at our house and that if I was going to get sleep or rest any time soon, it needed to happen before coming home.  So one dark and rainy morning, a few friends and I headed south to Lake Lanier.

There is something special and kindred about being with other mamas whose babies came/will come from someone else’s womb. Sharing the stories, the heartbreak, God’s incredible provision and timing through it all. It is therapeutic.

 It’s also hard for those of us whose stories take longer than others.  Whose stories don’t yet have a happy ending. At times, I felt jealous and bitter. Prideful and judgmental.

I am thankful that God delivered me from those feelings and allowed me to embrace and celebrate with the lovely ladies who shared stories and pictures of the children God has grafted into their families.

Overall, the retreat was an emotional and insightful whirlwind. The schedule was FULL from waking to sleeping. I cried a LOT.  I have yet to make it through all any of the notes that I took. It will take me months to implement what I gleaned into the way I support my husband, parent my kids and care for orphans.

The most rewarding piece of Created for Care for me was sitting under the teaching of some amazing Godly women who are more experienced at life and wiser than I am. Women like Susan Hillis and Carissa Woodwyk and Cris Peters and Beth Templeton.

 

The weekend at Lake Lanier was just the tip of the iceberg of what I can learn from these ladies. I’m looking forward to attending Created for Care for years to come and already anticipate the wonderful teaching it will bring.

There were plenty of “ah-ha” moments over the three day weekend, but today I want to share something said in passing, not from a stage or from someone with a microphone. In the midst of conversation, someone commented “That’s what adoption blogs are for – people are just venting their frustrations.”

That comment, while not meant for me, felt like darts flying onto my forehead landing in big black letters - “VENTING FRUSTRATIONS”.  

When we switched the focus of this blog, my intention was not to be another adoption blog. Adoption blogs are great but we felt very surely and strongly that God had given us our journey, including all of the painful waiting and nuances, so that we could encourage and equip others to care for orphans. Not whine about our waiting. 

But for the past six months, there’s been a lot of venting my frustrations and whining going on around here…

Now I know that sharing our story openly and honestly is encouraging to some, and that being transparent about the hard parts of orphan care is a good thing. I believe that. BUT, I don’t know that a casual passer-by would scan my recent posts and think – “I need to care for orphans and this girl has some great practical ideas and encouragement for how to do that!”

We don’t know what the Lord has in store for our personal orphan care journey but we believe that caring for orphans is a biblical command for all believers, not a calling for some. We believe that God has called our family to this task of encouraging and equipping others and we want to be faithful to pursue it.

So, I’m resolving to vent less and encourage and equip more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still frustrated, there will still be venting, just more encouraging and equipping to go along with it! I hope you'll keep visiting and feel encouraged and equipped to care for orphans, whatever that may look like for you!