Love Passed Down

~my grandpa and his sister having lunch on the farm, 1916~

 

Today was the funeral for my great-uncle.  He was my grandpa's (who's pictured above) little brother.  He and his wife did so much good work for the Lord, loving others no matter the cost.  When they were first married they worked at a children's home for a few years, and adopted two sons from there.  There was another boy there at the home who they mentioned to my grandparents, and my grandparents decided to adopt him.  He was seven at the time, and became their youngest son, just a year younger than my dad.  My great-uncle and aunt kept on in their desire to love the fatherless after they moved back to the farm, and welcomed many foster children over the years.  It was so clear at the funeral how much he and his wife impacted people for the Lord, just by loving them, no matter what they did. 

 

I was thinking on the way home, that if they hadn't told my grandparents about the little boy who they ended up adopting, and my dad hadn't grown up with him and his cousins, learning compassion for those who come from hard places, he wouldn't have imparted that to me, and we might not have adopted at all.  It's amazing to think how God was influencing us, almost 60 years ago, before we were even born. 

 

"If your eyes could only see how God is moving all

 those chess pieces around the board for maximum impact,

it would blow your mind. 

He's up to something big that doesn't only affect you. 

He's also after those around you. 

Furthermore, He's not just interested in impacting the present. 

He is the One 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty' (Revelation 1:8). 

Within every 'is', God is mindful

of what 'was' and what 'is to come,'

and He intends to show Himself mighty in all of the above. 

One thing is certain: you can't accuse God of being shortsighted."

 

~ from Beth Moore, in Looking Up When Life is Looking Down ~