Martin Luther King Jr and Samuel
so yesterday being mlk day got me thinking a little bit. so I decided to blog about it. I obviously thought about peoples rights. and I have lots of opinions on that. but what I want to focus on is the obvious. I believe that all children deserve to feel safe and loved.
the Sunday after Christmas, we all got together at my dad's mother's house. he is one of 3 children who were all there. I am one of 8 grand children and we were all there. it was the first time in a while that we had all been together. Lauren is my cousin that I have been the closest to for the longest and she was the last to arive. the momoment she walked in, this overwhelming peace came over me. all was right. I felt safe and loved. I have spent many holidays with these 8 cutting up and having fun. I am so thankful to still be able to all get together. I also got to see my second cousin (my cousin's daughter), Izzy play with my boys. no one sat her down and prepped her for meeting them. no one told her they would be different colors than her or that we were fostering. and she didn't ask. she acted as if there presence was totally normal and wanted. she was such a sweet older cousin and they are still talking about her. this was a pretty normal Christmas gathering for us and it felt wonderful.
this is how holidays were for me growing up. most of my days, especially before the age of 4, were nothing short of amazing. so full of love and care. biggie will be 4 a week from today and has already been through more than I ever have. every night he says "where we gone go when we waked up?" and then "what we gone do when we're done?" and "who gone pick me up? " we are often annoyed by these questions, especially when he doesn't like the answer. we have started telling him to live in the moment. I know some of this is his age and a phase and so on. but I also know that a lot of these questions stem from years of feeling a lack of security. it breaks my heart that he was part of a cycle of people who don't truly know love.
I am however thrilled to be given the opportunity to make sure that he is not one of those people. and my family and friends have done a great job of this as well. I have never felt as whole and fulfilled as I have since these boys came to our home. this is my purpose and my calling and I am so fortunate to get to live it out.
our preacher spoke Sunday about God calling Samuel as a child in his sleep to follow Him. if you don't know the story, look it up (1 samuel 3:1-20). I can testify that there is no greater joy than that which comes from living out His plan for your life.
so I want to challenge you. obviously, in memory of Dr. King, I challenge you to treat everyone with love and respect. but also, I hope that all of you will think about your purpose in life. religious or not, we are all here for a reason. I know our world could be a better place if we would all do a little more to live out our purpose each day.
my next post will probably be about biggie's birthday! I can hardly wait :)
the Sunday after Christmas, we all got together at my dad's mother's house. he is one of 3 children who were all there. I am one of 8 grand children and we were all there. it was the first time in a while that we had all been together. Lauren is my cousin that I have been the closest to for the longest and she was the last to arive. the momoment she walked in, this overwhelming peace came over me. all was right. I felt safe and loved. I have spent many holidays with these 8 cutting up and having fun. I am so thankful to still be able to all get together. I also got to see my second cousin (my cousin's daughter), Izzy play with my boys. no one sat her down and prepped her for meeting them. no one told her they would be different colors than her or that we were fostering. and she didn't ask. she acted as if there presence was totally normal and wanted. she was such a sweet older cousin and they are still talking about her. this was a pretty normal Christmas gathering for us and it felt wonderful.
this is how holidays were for me growing up. most of my days, especially before the age of 4, were nothing short of amazing. so full of love and care. biggie will be 4 a week from today and has already been through more than I ever have. every night he says "where we gone go when we waked up?" and then "what we gone do when we're done?" and "who gone pick me up? " we are often annoyed by these questions, especially when he doesn't like the answer. we have started telling him to live in the moment. I know some of this is his age and a phase and so on. but I also know that a lot of these questions stem from years of feeling a lack of security. it breaks my heart that he was part of a cycle of people who don't truly know love.
I am however thrilled to be given the opportunity to make sure that he is not one of those people. and my family and friends have done a great job of this as well. I have never felt as whole and fulfilled as I have since these boys came to our home. this is my purpose and my calling and I am so fortunate to get to live it out.
our preacher spoke Sunday about God calling Samuel as a child in his sleep to follow Him. if you don't know the story, look it up (1 samuel 3:1-20). I can testify that there is no greater joy than that which comes from living out His plan for your life.
so I want to challenge you. obviously, in memory of Dr. King, I challenge you to treat everyone with love and respect. but also, I hope that all of you will think about your purpose in life. religious or not, we are all here for a reason. I know our world could be a better place if we would all do a little more to live out our purpose each day.
my next post will probably be about biggie's birthday! I can hardly wait :)
SJ is the best, SJ is the best (in the singing voices of Biggie and Smalls)!
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