I am a blog junkie.  There, I said it. I'm also a documentary junkie, an article junkie, and a talk radio junkie. I can't seem to get enough of the stuff.  I love the way an author or a speaker can reach right into my heart sometimes and pull out what has been just taking up space.  Or how a line from a story in someone else's life can make me think differently than I have in the past.

I love to learn and I love to grow.

This past week, as I was putting in some 'windshield time', I was listening to Jill Savage speak on Midday Connection.  Her story and her testimony was compelling but, there is really only one thing that has stuck with me like glue.  Tucked in the words she shared was this... "Don't compare your 'behind the scenes' with other peoples 'highlight reel'." She challenged us as listeners to think about how it used to be that we would see people who appeared to be neat and put together, living the life we'd wished we had, on occasion and then we would go about our lives, wanting more.  Now, we see those people every time we pull up Social Media and it sometimes leaves us feeling like we just aren't measuring up.  My first thought was, "how silly would it be to compare your life with someone's Facebook feed?" I mean, everyone knows that those are just snippets of peoples actual lives, right?

Maybe.  Maybe not.

The last several years, I have invited many of you into our lives as we said, "Yes" to adoption.  I've tried to be transparent as we have experienced the highs and lows of this process, learning how to love what Jesus loves, orphans and widows (James 1:27).  It has blown the door wide open to new friendships, a deeper compassion, and commitment I have never known before...and through months, nearly 2 years of 'expecting', God has shown his glory in some pretty powerful ways.

I was talking with a good friend/fellow adoptive mom this week.  She was sharing with me how her heart and her physical being were feeling a bit worn from mommy-hood.  After all, it's a job that is not for the faint of heart.  It requires being 'on' at all times and when there are hurts that can't be fixed by you, well... that just plain stinks.  We talked about the dynamics in their home and what the dynamics in my own home may look like in just a short while.  After all, we are riding the 'high' right now.  We are singing the victory hymn and we are basking in the taste of a battle hard fought on our behalf.  But what will our song sound like in a few shorts months?  As we continued our conversation, I confessed to my friend that I was struggling with our family being somehow identified as "wonderful" or how Daniel would be considered "lucky to have us". Didn't they know that just a few days ago, 2 out of my 4 children were disappointed in me by 7 a.m.!  Didn't they know that I have a sink full of dishes and duct tape holding the drawer of my refrigerator together? Don't they realize that I have fears and insecurities and that sometimes I wonder if I could possibly be trusted by God to guide my children or be a helper and a partner to my husband?

...then it hit me.  The 'highlight reel'.

Oh, dear friends.  I want to set the story straight.  We are not wonderful... but God is!  I mean that with every fiber of my being.  What we are is available.  We have decided to step out of what is comfortable to love what Jesus loves, because we love Him.  We are committed, and we are trusting God but most of all, we are flawed and we are dependent on Him.  I need you to know that our behind the scenes are produced in the same studio as yours and when I am tempted to compare our lives to your highlight reel, I'm going to remember the same.

Sometime ago, I wrote this in the back of my Bible to serve as a reminder.  

These words are just as true today as they were over 500 years ago.  

I have been overwhelmed by the way God has brought so many of you alongside us.  It has been like salve to a wound during some trying times.  In the months ahead, as we are settling in and learning the script of a new cast at our house, we will be encouraged knowing that so many of you have already given us great reviews, simply because you believe in what God has called us to.  

All my love, 

-Lisa