Encouragement

God knew in the wake of B leaving that I needed some encouragement.  Its so easy to feel like we are failing when things don't go the way we had planned.  But we are working with people, not machines.  Its not as easy as putting in the right formula and then waiting for the proper outcome.  They are people, and sensitive ones at that with pasts I can only imagine.  And lets not forget a sin nature.  But I cling to the fact that failure looks different in the kingdom of God.  What seems like failure from our perspective is often what God uses most powerfully.

Last night I got to talk to Y who recently moved out to be with her birth mother.  For the two years that she lived with us we talked and went back and forth about theology.  She grew up with her grandmother who faithfully took her to a church that I can only classify as being a cult with very legalistic theology.  Its dangerous because on the surface they seem to have all the right answers and in fact, meeting her mom I really thought that she really knew Jesus because she gave me all the right answers.  But last night Y shared with me that they are going to the same kind of church now where her mom lives.

Y has spent the last 2 years defending her church to me, its theology, its prophets, its teaching that you must pray three times a day and attend church daily in order to be saved.  She was constantly worried about her salvation because we did not attend church every day and in her mind grace had no place.  And so we studied and I showed her Scripture.  We talked about grace and that it is God's grace that saves us not anything that we or don't do.  Nothing that you do will make God love you more and nothing will make God love you less.  He loves you, that it is nature, and He is faithful even when we are not.

Talking to her last night she is discouraged, but for the first time I hear a real desire in her to really know Jesus and God's grace in her life.  She is going to church with her mom because her mom tells her she will lose her salvation.  But for the first time she voiced that she doesn't agree... "that's not what I read when we studied the Bible" she told me.  A prophet came to church and said things contrary to Scripture and although she has always defended prophets to the utmost last night she told me that God's Word is more important than a prophet.  She wants to find a different church they let her bring her Bible and teach her from it.

So she's discouraged... but for a good reason.  God is doing something in her heart and she is listening.  She is restless and wants Spiritual change.  Wow.  And she had to leave (what seems like failure) to be able to get where she is.  And I can say this... the Spiritual life of each of these girls is more important than whether or not we have 4 moms living in our children's home.  I pray that God will draw them to Himself, each one, in His time.  Wherever and whenever that needs to happen for their good and HIS glory!