A Tribute To My Parents . . . And Advocacy

"Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." First Corinthians 4:2 (NIV)

I had the immense privilege of being raised in a minister's home. My Dad and his older brother Carl traveled as evangelists before they were married. My Dad and Mom were still engaged when they "tried out" at their first church in Shelley, Idaho. They were married July 29, 1959 and their first Sunday as the new pastors was in early August!

My Dad would not describe himself as a flashy preacher. He doesn't shout or run up and down the aisles or pound the pulpit. (I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those things--they're just not my Dad.) He just loves Jesus, loves the Bible and loves people . . . faithfully. Day in, day out. Attendance up, attendance down. The same with my Mom--no flowing silk robes, no golden chains and glittering diamonds, no "thus saith the Lord" pronouncements over people--just consistency. Sure, they got discouraged and frustrated and felt like giving up from time to time . . . BUT THEY DIDN'T. They were at one church for nine years, the next for thirteen. Their last pastorate was at the church I currently attend; they ministered here for thirteen years before officially "retiring" from the ministry several years ago. I put "retiring" in quotation marks because my parents still make many hospital calls, still preach at other churches when the pastor is on vacation or when the pastor has resigned, still are at the local church multiple times a week cleaning, scooping snow, helping with various projects, etc. And they are still steady in their attendance to Sunday services as well as mid-week prayer meetings and Bible study.

Their faithfulness has had a profound impact on my life and on our church as well. A solid foundation of solid biblical faith and true, committed love was laid; as a church we are now reaping the results.

So what does this have to do with adoption advocacy? Just this: if God has given us a passion for the fatherless, then let us be faithful in our advocacy and our prayer. I know I can (and do) become easily discouraged because I don't express myself as well as my friend Adeye or Julie. I don't have as many followers as Meredith or Shelley. (They each have excellent blogs, by the way--I highly encourage reading them.) I often feel like I am talking to myself on this blog. I feel that people who actually know me in real life are tired of hearing me advocate for waiting children on Facebook.

I am just reminding myself that what God required of me is faithfulness to his call on my heart. It's OK if I'm not like my friends because I'm NOT them--I am myself. I can't quit for lack of response. It's OK if people roll their eyes at yet another orphan picture posted on my wall because I'm not answerable to them: I am answerable to Jesus. HE has called me to orphans. Someday I want to hear him say to me, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." (Matthew 25:23)