Just a few days ago we sat at the kitchen table with our oldest daughter as she talked about her next adventure for the advancement of His Kingdom. She was processing aloud the trip and all that it would include and contemplating the impact and value. She wondered aloud if the value would be the same as if her father had gone. I tried to encourage her. “Of course they will know our interest is high! Kristen, your dad is sending his most valued treasure—his daughter.”
Gary, always the encourager, chimed in, “My one and only daughter!” Then it dawned on us.
Gary and Belinda so loved the world that they SENT their only daughter (first to Mexico, then to China, and to India and even to be married and live in OHIO)!
Psalm 127
3-5 Don't you see that children are God's best gift?
the fruit of the womb His generous legacy?
Like a warrior's fistful of arrows
are the children of a vigorous youth.
Oh, how blessed are you parents,
with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies don't stand a chance against you;
you'll sweep them right off your doorstep.
I still remember his emphasis and point that arrows were not meant to stay in the quiver. They were meant to be SENT OUT!
As a young bride who did not yet have any arrows in my quiver, though I loved the thought of it, I certainly had no idea how it would feel to draw back the bow. But I knew how it felt to be chosen and to be aimed at a target and sent out! How it felt to know that you were on mission and were spending your one and only life for an eternal difference!
Today Kristen is sent out to a target, half a world away and Mom and family are praying that she will hit the mark.. an arrow out of the quiver. Jesus was willing to be SENT from heaven and God was willing to send His very best!
Belinda, this is such an awesome parallel. Sometimes we forget about the people who love the people who have been sent at that time. I feel so blessed to learn from your and Gary's leadership at ICCC. Thanking God for you!
Posted by: Alina Yeisley | November 05, 2010 at 05:25 PM