This Advent season, we hav
e the opportunity to reflect on this deep and incredible commitment God has made – becoming human. We’ll consider four areas where Christ’s coming creates a new paradigm for the way we live.
Our theme in week one is Vulnerability. Although all power and authority was his, Jesus came to earth as a helpless and dependent baby. The incarnation leads us to be vulnerable, willing to open up our lives, to be honest about our questions, fears, and hopes, and depend on others in our need. We also seek to care for those who are vulnerable.
Brokenness and Beauty, side by side
It’s really hard to describe the simultaneous joy and grief I felt when the Department of Children and Families called me on August 23 about a 4-week old baby girl whose momma was in a lot of trouble and couldn’t take care of her. They posed a question to me that I had spent months preparing myself to be able to answer. “Yes, I’ll be her mom…as long as she needs me to be, I’ll be her mom.” I wanted her, my community wanted her and I was able, by God’s grace, to rearrange my life so that I could say,“Yes.”This is a beautiful thing in the midst of tragedy for this baby and her family.
I pull her close for snuggles every morning and every night and I am overwhelmed by the beauty of it all and also by the brokenness of it all. A broken family and broken government system. Sometimes I feel like everything is broken. Except when I pull her in close and she coos as I kiss her for the 100th time on that little spot on her forehead. That feels beautiful. Every day is filled with brokenness and beauty. Side by side, comingled, all around.
Almost every Sunday someone says to me, “I could never do foster care because I couldn’t give her back.” It is true that there is no way to do foster care with armor up protecting your own heart from getting hurt. It is also true that we have a Savior who took all his armor off, took off everything and became a helpless baby. He entered into our brokenness to bring beauty. Jesus told me I could follow Him and I am banking on His promises of redemption.
Where do you notice brokenness? How can you enter into the brokenness and – trusting in Jesus and his promises – bring beauty?
Story by Lianna Sours
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