That We May...be open (3 of 7)

(this is post #3 in a series)
Post #1 is here
Post #2 is here

Since the early months of 2013 all kind of ran together, I don't have a particular timeframe on this next piece.  But, at some point in all of Lucas's powerful prayers, and while my mom was sick, he had tossed in a curve ball.  
Keep in mind Peter and I were not even ready for "one" and he decided his other friend "the girl" could not be left behind either.  It turned into "both".  
He could not settle on just one and leaving the other one behind. 

what?
who told you we were even going at all?
(hahaha)

He told us the 3 of them always hung out together in China and were like ...

Well, he didn't even say the word like...

He said they were brothers and sister.  
I knew they are not related by blood, but their bond was as strong as siblings.
In China, Lucas had problems keeping up with the group because of his tiny feet and short legs.
Lucas told us "The boy" had a foot issue too and sometimes struggled to keep up.
and 
He told us "The girl" had a leg that didn't work and she used a crutch so she moved more slowly too.

Lucas reports that they did everything together.

I envision them as the 3 Musketeers.  

We were listening to his prayers and realizing God was speaking through his story and speaking into our lives. 

God was rattling our cage.
He was making us uncomfortable.
He was asking us to be Open.

The prayers persisted.

I would sit by his bedside every night listening to his plea to God on behalf of his friends.  Often his prayers were accompanied by tears.  For months this boy prayed.  By this time, I began to see we could become a barrier to this boy's faith.  He would say things like,
"Why isn't God answering my prayers?"
"Maybe I should stop praying"
He knew God could do this thing, but something was standing in the way.
Little did he know some of the issue was us.
It was all God's timing of course, but when his precious faith would waiver, I kept saying..."keep praying Lucas"

But, what I was really saying was
"Speak to me/us Lord"

All I could think about was how difficult it would be.  I was tired.  I saw my own limitations and I heard my husband's heart was similar to mine.

I knew the children were precious. That I didn't doubt. I had several "reports" of that from people who had seen them personally--face to face on mission trips or visiting the orphanage, etc. in past years, in addition to Lucas's personal reports on them of course.  He told us how smart they were in school but how he actually struggled (and gave the teachers a hard time).  He told us how they hung out together all the time and helped eachother.

In May of 2013, right after my mom died,  Lucas's prayers took yet another turn.
He began to pray with more boldness and confidence and instead of an if they come home, he prayed when they come home.
God was doing something through this boy.
First, he prayed for his friend,
Then he added another friend,
now it wasn't "if" it was "when"...

Both Peter and I struggled with it, but were praying even apart from Lucas.  We started hearing things separately from the Lord through God's Word, in sermons, in songs, in devotionals, from people.  
Yet, we were not quite ready.

During that timeframe our Pastor Louie (Passion City Church) was also doing a series called:

That We May

It was based on this passage:

1 Peter 2:9

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

He taught us how our acts of generosity and service and our lives are not supposed to come from a place of "shoulds" or "have to's" but out of a heart of privilege.  It is our privilege to declare God's praises in and through all we do in our lives and in our Generosity.  That We May serve Him and Give Him Glory.  We cannot out-give what Jesus gave to us at the cross.  With our lives, our finances, our time, our everything.  

It was a privilege...
a privilege to be open to Giving Extravagantly with our lives.

God was opening us up.
He was teaching us through Lucas's persistent faith.
He was teaching us through His Word.

Change was in the air...
God was speaking....(to be continued)