I was thinking yesterday.
Marting Luther King Jr. Day.
About our life with our 3 littles.
2 vanillas and 1 chocolate.
What a wonderful life we have. A blessed life. A life that only God himself could orchestrate. We live a life that only a few short years ago, would have been completely unacceptable and unheard of.
Praise God for restoration and redemption in the broken. In the ugly. In the shameful.
Praise God for equality. For justice. For making things right. The way they are supposed to be.
Praise God for people who Dream. For people who are bold. Bold enough to say No! This is not ok! Praise God for people who are not afraid to render over their safety and name sake for the restoration of others. Praise God for people who rise up and fight for truth. Fight for peace and fight for God to intervene.
Martin Luther King Jr. He was one of those people. A person who fought for a broken dark world to be made right. He wasn't afraid of his dream. He wasn't afraid to stand his ground and fight for what his heart knew was right. This man had a dream. And today, we get to live that dream.
Growing up I knew who Martin Luther King Jr was. I knew what he fought for and I knew he "had a dream." But it wasn't until Emme entered our lives that I fully grasped and KNEW what his dream meant. I honestly didn't put a lot of thought into what all this amazing man taught us. What he was really about.
Now, I cant hear/read his speech without getting weepy. It stirs something deep in my soul. Something tender. Raw. Emotional. It brings deep emotions of regret. Hurt. Pain. Shame. But at the same time a spirit of victory. Joy. And Excitement.
Facebook yesterday was consumed with Dr. Kings quotes. Most I had read but never let my thoughts ponder on them. Do you grasp the power in his words? Do you feel his passion? Let me share some of my thoughts inspired by Dr. King.
"We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."
Friends, we may not be fighting a war for race equality and for human rights but, we are indeed fighting a war. Everyday we fight a war that is unseen. If you believe and have professed Jesus as your Lord and savior you better believe that you are fighting a war. An unseen war but none the less real and painful. The enemy attacks those who fear the Lord. He will use clever tactics. He will use even friends/family/co-workers or whoever to tear you down. Fight this battle with dignity and discipline. Rise to the majestic heights where physical force meets soul force.
"We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead."
No matter where you are in your walk of life, surround yourself with those who are fighting the same battles as you. Who have overcome the ones you face. And those who edify you and sharpen you. Link arms. Stand together. Do not walk this walk of life alone. March ahead. In adoption it is said that it "takes a village" to raise these kids. It does. In marriage, in parenting, in relationship, in ministry, I believe that in every walk, you need a village to fight the good fight. Find your village, make your pledge to march ahead. We can take on the world together.
"I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.""Faith is taking the first step, even if you don't see the first staircase."
What are you living for? What would you die for? What is your purpose? It doesn't have to be grand or big it can be something small. What ever it is, live it and live it big. I want my children to be passionate. It is important. Passion is what brings change. What bring things to life. I to love and I want my children to learn to love. Not a fairytale love. But love that brings cause. Love that brings hope. Love that brings on something bigger then themselves. Love and Passion with no boundaries. That have no fear of missing their dream. Whatever it may be. We were created for purpose. I want to encourage you to lay your fears down. And find it. Live it and fulfill it. Even if you are the only one. Trust me...when you start living out those dreams, those things you fight for and would die for, you find people in the strangest ways that are just like you. You just have to take the first bold step to do it.
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others."
It is easy to be brave when no courage is required. It is easy to talk about being bold and standing up for what it right. How many of us have actually been in a place where real courage was required and being brave was the only choice?
It is so easy to talk about giving when your bucket is overflowing but what about giving when the bucket is dry and you only have crumbs to give? How many times has the Lord told you to give when you had none to give and you were obedient. When was the last time you helped someone despite what others around you including the ones you love most thought about you?
I could go on an on but I cant close without sharing his dream...
"I have a dream that one day my four children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and little white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today."
For the first time in my life, I read this quote yesterday and nearly wept. What a powerful dream. One we watch come to fruition day after day. In our home, our friends homes and in the homes of so many others across the nation. We live in a nation that once had a thick cloud of darkness that covered us called hatred. Today, we join hands in our daily interactions with one another.
The other night we sat over frozen yogurt while Parker asked Phillip and I who Martin Luther King Jr was. As we told him, his eyes filled with little tears. I watched as my almost 7 year olds face dropped with sadness. We explained the brokenness that our country once suffered from. We explained to him, in a very 7 yr old way, the disease of hatred our nation once carried. As he bit his bottom lip and pondered what we were saying I knew he was struggling to wrap his mind around such a thing. He was quite for awhile and later that night at bedtime told me "Mom, I would have stood with Dr. King and I would have told those people to Love each other because that it what Jesus tells us to do." He has the purest heart.
So I was thinking...
What if we all had the compassion for people that my 7 yr old has?
What if we all were brave and had real courage to stand up for what it right and to stand up and fight for others?
What if we all had the courage to live with purpose and be the change the world so desperately needs?
What if we fought with dignity and with discipline and not harshness and cruelty?
What if we opened our eyes to the "invisible" people and laid our privileged lives down for them? To fight for their redemption and restoration?
What if we all had a dream and would die to see it be fulfilled?
What if we all fought for the dream of our Father to make his Son known so that those made in His image could be restored to Him as rightful heirs? As son's and daughters?
I was thinking...What if......???