March 6, 2008

Do you ever feel that church signs are speaking directly to you? Does God use those simple changeable-letter church signs to talk to us? Makes me wonder sometimes.

There have been more than a few occasions where I was driving along, thinking about something going on in my life, when all of a sudden I see a church sign with some short, simple message that goes along exactly with what I am thinking or feeling. Maybe it encourages me when I am uncertain about something. Or helps me along with something I know I should probably do. Here are a couple of somewhat related examples.

Whenever we get a call about keeping a foster child, there isn't much notice at all ahead of time. Usually it starts off with a phone call out of the blue that goes something like, "We have a foster child that needs a place to stay. Can you come get him right now?" To be fair, it has almost always worked out where the child wasn't quite ready to go right then, so the next day was fine. But still, when they call and ask, the first reaction is always, "Right now?!?!"

Two years ago, we got a call about a newborn baby girl. Another one of those "Can you get her today?" calls that turned out not to be quite that urgent. She wouldn't be ready to leave the hospital until the next day. So we agreed, and then spent the rest of the evening trying to make sure we were ready. Getting everything we thought we might need for a newborn. Setting up the baby bed. Stuff like that.

And then along with all that getting ready, there is always some mental "getting ready" as well. It usually goes something like, "Can we do this? Are we ready? Are we crazy? Should we have said no?" With this particular girl, once I started coping with those usual questions, I got to thinking some more. Why was a one-day old girl needing a foster home? What was her situation? What good could come from this for her?

That last question was going through my mind, trying to imagine what a life would be like with a start such as that. As I was thinking that, I was driving along to meet Laura and Jaylin at a restaurant for supper. Something about going out to eat always seems to relieve some stress, even if only for a little while.

As I was driving, I saw a church sign that just jumped out at me. It seemed to answer my question perfectly. It said:

God had a purpose for you before you were born

And that made me feel much better. Whatever was going on, for whatever reason, God had a purpose for this girl. Despite having a rather difficult beginning to her life. Despite whatever difficulties might lie ahead for her. God had a purpose for her, and he chose to have her start out that way. Just like he has a purpose for all of us.

Now I must tell you that I still don't know what her purpose here might be. She stayed with us for a few months and then left, and we haven't heard any more from her since then. But whatever it may be, she does have a purpose here. No life is insignificant, no matter how it may seem at the time. It is often hard for us to pull back and see the big picture, especially when we don't know what the future might hold. But we do have a purpose.

God spoke to Jeremiah the prophet in the Old Testament to let him know that he had a purpose:

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:4-5

So now, it is up to us to fulfill our individual purposes, whatever they may be.

Fast forward a couple of years to the present day. On a Friday, we got a call about another foster child. And once again, the "Can you get him now?" ended up that we would get him Monday afternoon. So this time, we had a whole weekend to prepare our home and ourselves.

Monday morning came, and things were seeming pretty hectic. And we still had the whole day ahead of us before we would receive our visitor. I was driving to work, asking myself all the usual "Is this for us?" types of questions. And right there again was another church sign. This one said:

The sign of the saved is their love for the least

Right there again, some of my doubts were lifted. It is our job to take care of those who are less fortunate in any way that we can. And at this time in our life, this is what my family can do. This child is "the least" in that he can't provide for himself or take care of himself. And we can show him love by giving him a place to stay for a while.

That sign saying came from a story Jesus told about helping others:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' - Matthew 25:34-40

So pay attention to those church signs that you pass - they just might have a message for you.

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