Jesus in disguise

Driving to my daughter’s elementary school to volunteer this morning.  One responsibility I accepted gave birth to so many other ones that it’s hard for me to remember everything to write on my to-do list…just my school volunteer list.
I slow down to let the college students run across the street to class as all those thoughts run through my mind.


Then I hear on the radio a song in the background of my chaos.  The singer, Brandon Heath, was talking about his new song “Jesus in Disguise”.  He wrote that song having seen words that Mother Theresa had said.  
She’d get up at 4a.m. and stay up until late at night every day to be with the poor and needy, the hungry, the sick, the deserted and lonely people because they were disguised as Jesus. 
Remembering what Jesus did for her (and you and me), she so wanted to thank Him by serving Him…Jesus, disguised behind the eyes of the poor and in need.
Then Jesus whispered to me in the car, “Do you remember what you were reading this morning with Me?  Do you remember what you opened My Book to?  Psalm 109:21-26…
²¹ But you, Sovereign Lord,
help me for your name’s sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
²² For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
²³ I fade away like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴ My knees give way from fasting;
my body is thin and gaunt.
²⁵ I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.                                                                                                  ²⁶ Help me, Lord my God;
save me according to your unfailing love.
I read those words this morning and then hear about that song and people in need.  When I read that Scripture this morning, I immediately thought of our sweet Jennifer whom we adopted from Compassion International about 5 years ago.  It’s been a humbling joy to help the life of this beautiful, young girl in Mexico.  We want her to feel cared for and loved. 

We pray for Jennifer every night and love getting letters from her.  It’s our hope one day to visit her.  Something that’s extra special about our relationship with her is that our daughter is now fluent in Spanish, the language Jennifer speaks.  For Libby to be able to read what Jennifer wrote to us in Spanish…and for us to be able to write back to her in Spanish as well.  Libby especially hopes she can go and have their own conversations with Jennifer to share hopes and dreams together.
Mother Theresa also said, “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.”
We’ve started in our home by loving on Jennifer through words in letters and small gifts and things she needs by our financial contribution each month.  The  joy of giving to her is a gift to us.
(Our family encourages you to pray over the children who are waiting to be adopted through Compassion.  Pray they’ll know Jesus more and more every day and that they’ll be protected and feel loved by others and Jesus.  Please pray they’ll be adopted by a family…maybe yours?)
And when you start to give, you just want to give more…I began thinking how many people in poverty lands must feel unwanted, unloved and uncared for…yet so many in my neighborhood and community, who live in nice houses and go to good schools and shop at nice stores in town, are experiencing that same poverty.  But we’d never know it because they’re disguised as someone well-to-do…
As we pray to recognize and care for Jesus in disguise, we’ll continue to dream of one day running to Jennifer and give her a hug…not running around with the list of things to do.  
“The way you help heal the world is you start with your own family.”  Mother Theresa
Still on the hunt…
#892  gift given – Jennifer through Compassion
#893  gift growing…our pumpkins


#894  gift growing – daughter (going shopping with her to buy earrings for the first time)
#895  gift growing – my enjoyment of writing and blogging (never before imagined)