Life Goes On

Yesterday I went back to the place where I worked for 5 1/2 years, before going to Canada. It is always a strange experience to "go back" where you used to be at home and find you are a stranger. I had been invited to a worship service of gratitude for the arrival of a very special baby. Debora, the mother, had worked for or with me, in my department. I had seen her date and then marry Wellington. I knew they dreamed of a family and upon discovering that they both had fertility issues, shared in their grief. The adoption process seemed impossibly long and difficult and then the baby they awaited was stillborn. It seemed to be one crushing blow after another. They had almost given up hope when Isabelle was born, unwanted and unloved by her family. Debora arrived home from the interior of Brazil with Isabelle, Christmas day! They still have the long road of the legalities of the adoption process, but after all they've been through, that seems not so complicated. Everyone shared in the joy of her birth and home-coming. Surely she will be very well loved and nurtured in the Lord. Her name means "Consecrated to God". I was so pleased to be included in the joy of this worship service at the office where we prayed and rejoiced together. It reminded me, again, of the necessity of taking the "long point of view" and not focusing on the disappointing now.
I have just finished reading a book "Polishing God's Monuments" (you can click on it in the column to the left that lists the books I am reading) that deals with this very issue. It is one of the rare books that I feel changed my way of looking at the world. Basically the author reminds me that we don't get "through" the hard moments pretending like it is not happening, like everything WILL be the way we want, etc. He says we must turn and see how God has acted in the past - in the Bible, in our own lives, in the lives of others - and make those into monuments to God's faithfulness and sovereignty. In the moments of pain and doubt we we must turn and look to who God REALLY is (that is the process of polishing the monuments) and trust even when we don't understand. It is not about manipulating God with our faith. It is about trusting in the big picture of who God is. And now I have another story to add. God has given to this young couple the child they so desired. Praise be to God. God did not give to João and I the child we desired, but he also removed the desire to have children. Praise be to God. God is good.