where there is Love, there is God

My Farmers' Market friend called me at noon yesterday to tell me that I was going to be interviewed at 6:00. The local online newspaper wanted to feature my little soap booth, my little story. I felt nervous, inadequate.

I was in the car, on the way to drop Jude off at "Na's" so he wouldn't be isolated to our little booth for four hours while we worked the market that evening. I started praying about what I would say in the interview.

I'm learning a lot about myself these days. Over the last few years, I've gotten more and more "quiet." I can't explain exactly why and it's hard to put my finger on it. I guess I avoid drawing attention to myself or being in the spotlight, because it opens the door for people to make judgments; an invitation for others to express their opinions. And sometimes I'm afraid my skin won't be thick enough and that someone's words might penetrate and hurt. Somewhere along the way, I just started keeping things to myself.

So as I was driving in the car, I prayed. I asked God what He wanted me to say. How much would I share? Would I tell the world (or at least all of Lilburn) about His part in our story?

Jude fell asleep on the drive. I looked at him in the rearview mirror as I thought about my words, our story, our miracle. I thought about this story I'd read from Mother Theresa's book, Where There Is God, There Is Love, the day before:

A few weeks ago, I had the very extraordinary experience of this tenderness of God for the little one. A man came to our house with a prescription from a doctor. He said the child was dying, his only child was dying in the slums of Calcutta and that medicine could not be got in India anywhere. It had to be brought from England. As we were talking, a man came with a basket of medicines. He had gone round to the families and gathered half-used medicines for our poor people. And there he came, and right on top of that basket was that medicine. I just couldn't believe because if it was inside, I would not have seen it. If he had come before or after, I would not have connected. I just stood in front of that basket and kept looking at the bottle and in my mind I was saying, "Millions and millions and millions of children in the world--how could God be concerned with that little child in the slums of Calcutta. To send that medicine, to send that man just at that time, to put that medicine right on top and to send the full amount that the doctor had prescribed." See how precious that little one was to God Himself. How concerned He was for that little one. --Mother Theresa

And it just kind of hit me. This interview really had nothing to do with me. At least, I knew it had nothing to do with me. What if our little soap booth could just show people even a glimpse of how much He loves them...how much concern he has for the little one...and them. God was so concerned for Jude that He planted a little seed in our hearts that grew and led us 7,698 miles across the world to a foreign country and a foreign child to bring him home and into our family and call him our own ("God sets the lonely in families"-Psalm 68:6). We could never have orchestrated anything so perfectly. It was God's plan and it is His love that is so beautiful. Where there is love, there is God.

And as far as my interview, I will let you know once it posts. I was on video, and I'm sure I was awkward, so if anything you may have a good laugh. I have to run now, I hear my son calling for "chocolate milk" from his crib : ).