Don't worry about it.

These 1-year-olds don't have a worry in the world. They are safe. They are loved.

Last Saturday I wrote about a 2-year-old baby girl named Isabelle, who has suffered more in her short life than anyone should in a lifetime.  You can read her story by clicking here.  I am thankful for the 797 people who read the blog, and most certainly thankful for all of the prayers, but I’m a bit surprised that not a single person signed up to sponsor her, not even for $10/month.  I understand that many of you already sponsor children and/or have other charities that you support, but I fear that my stories have become repetitive. This child has suffered terribly and that child is burned badly and this one was dying of starvation – maybe it getting old?  Maybe we are all becoming desensitized to the pain and suffering in the world. Maybe God just has a different plan for her life?  What I do know is that I am not to worry about it.

There seems to be a lot of fear and worry in our midst these days. How will we pay the bills? How will we continue to fund the organization when we keep getting so many babies? When will we have to start turning away children in need?  Ian and I are very human, and we get hurt and we get tired, but what we can not allow ourselves to do is start to worry about how the Lord is going to provide for His children.  We need to be still. We need to ask Him for direction and we need to wait patiently for His direction, and then go when and where He says to go.  And he has never NOT provided. He has never abandoned us or left us in need, and He reminded me that He made Isabelle and He know exactly what she needs.

I put on my Spotify before I started to write this blog and the song “Way maker” by Leeland started to play.  It is just what I needed to hear. The words that soothed my soul, and brought tears to my eyes say:

Way maker
Miracle worker
Promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God
That is who you are
Way maker
Miracle worker
Promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God
That is who you are

And then I remembered my friends Cheryl Lucas, Seth Condrey and Sarah Windham singing that very song on Project Canaan in July, and it was magic.  The Holy Spirit was palpable that morning on the mountainside in the tiny, broken, hurting Kingdom of Eswatini.  Below is a short snippet of their powerful song.

What are you afraid of today? What are you worried about? What is keeping you from getting a good night’s sleep?  Matthew does a bit of a slap down to followers of Jesus who are afraid and worry.  Let’s see what he says in this Message bible translation and see if it might help.  

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”  Matthew 6:25-34

Drop the mic.

Live from Pretoria, South Africa … taking a little break.

Janine