The inside of me sighs every time I step under the vine and onto the porch of the pale pink house with the green shutters. A real-live, white picket fence surrounds the giant doll house of which I am about to enter. I love it here.
As soon as I enter I am greeted by the honest-to-goodness wooden, and lovingly home-made, table that seats 14. The upright piano smiles at me, and the country bed, in the bedroom to the left, resting with a breakfast tray, beckons me to take another sigh. I don’t live here; yet, somehow, it always feels like home.
She’s a tiny little thing—my Judy-friend. She wraps me in her arms while younger children shyly smile from around the corner. Mike’s out back—working on computers—or something. Their lives are full of interesting people and activities---everything from Irish dance to trips to New York. They seem to be the quintessential---well, quintessential many things!! I smell made-from-scratch, and healthy cookies baking, and I can’t help but grin as I, once more, admire Judy’s country, Victorian, organized and clean home. Okay, sometimes, I even feel a bit envious! This house should be in a magazine---it just should!
But, I don’t want to tell you about their house—I want to tell you about what's going on in their lives. You see, Mike and Judy have opted out of ‘conventional’ and have decided to have ‘out of the box’ kind of lives. They love Jesus more than anything; but, they sometimes, have ways of living for Jesus that throw people off-kilter.
Maybe that’s why I like them so much. I have that same kind of off-kilter kind of life.
They love kids, and they’ve probably gotten used to the gasps of others when they share that they have eleven! Isn’t that great? You see, they are really special people and they really love being parents---even though they’ve had their struggles and failings---like all of us. But, they really love being parents, so much so that there came a day when they told Jesus “Whatever!”
Do you know what it means when you whisper a prayer like that? Well, exciting, and even scary things start to happen! And so it has, now, with Mike and Judy. God has brought three special kids into their lives who desperately, and I do mean desperately, need parents. They need parents just like Mike and Judy.
And, now, Mike and Judy, need you.
You know, we (I’m no exception) Christians like to think we know what it means to live by faith, and to sell ourselves out completely to God, but the truth is----we want to do it as long it looks a certain way. Actually, it would be a lot easier if it could look a way that society would accept. But, we aren’t called to please society, we are called to please God. Yet, sometimes, God brings us to some pretty crazy, and, yet unbelievably wonderful , things.
I want to ask you to believe in the ‘wonderful!’ Mike and Judy need you to.
So, here’s what I’m asking. I’m asking you, as their friend or stranger, to do a few things for them. For starters, pray for them. They know that they have been led to parent these three precious children, but it’s going to take lots of faith, money and encouragement. So, please pray for them.
And, since I’m at it, how about that encouragement? It’s going to be so, so, easy to tell them how crazy they are! But, you won’t have to---they already know! Just trust that they are looking to follow God. That's all they want to do---have the lives that God has for them--no matter how crazy!
So, that leaves this one last, ah-hem, and even embarrassing question and need-----money! Where is it going to come from anyway? From what I can see, 99.9% of people who adopt special international children don’t have the money. They rely on God to provide it somehow; and He always does. But, this is where the rest of us can really get involved and help God, Mike, Judy, three needy kids, and the whole Schoonover clan-- all at once! As I’m writing this, I’m encouraging Judy, or Heidi, or someone to put a Paypal donation button on their web-site and on this blog. I’m humbly asking you, please help these three children by giving money. You don’t even have to pray about it---it’s in the Bible. God LOVES orphans!!
I just spent two months in Ukraine. I got to know two of these three children (I’ll let Judy, or Mike tell you about them in another blog) while I was there. I saw firsthand their suffering—their lack of food, lack of love, lack of anything to do. I’m telling you---these kids need Mike and Judy.
So, as I think about the pale-pink house with green shutters, and picture Mike on the computer and Judy sitting on the back porch sewing away while talking to one of her big boys, and various Schoonovers reading, drawing, and playing, I also picture three new lives that belong there, too.
You see, Mike and Judy have the belief that there’s never too many. There are never too many kids…..never too many blessings.
Never.
written by a fellow 'crazy'--Marsha Whaley at bunchesofwhaleys.blogspot.com
