Saying Yes

I know some very cool people. My friends Andrew and Jess just brought home their third child—a baby girl they adopted from an orphanage in China. Another family I know also recently adopted a Chinese girl, making them a family of ten. And my cousin and her husband are now officially foster parents, taking in little ones age 5 and under while also raising their three elementary-aged kids.

Jess recently shared on her blog about a family running a special needs foster home in China called Hidden Treasures. “They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” she wrote, “not because they were equipped with the resources or skills to do so, but simply because they were willing to say yes to what God invited them to do and relied on Him to make it happen.”

I keep thinking about those words—saying yes to what God invites—and wondering about my own life. How closely am I paying attention? When God asks me to do something, do I even hear Him? Or am I too busy pursuing my own agenda?

I find myself in awe of these families who’ve chosen to foster and adopt. They’ve not only listened to God, they’ve each said yes, and to a very big question involving major sacrifice and hard work. But I don’t think they started there, at the big question. Jess said the family running the special needs foster home in China didn’t plan it in advance. They just took in one abandoned child, and then another, and now they have close to 50 children. It began with one yes that led to many others.

It says in the Bible that those who are faithful in the little things will eventually be given greater responsibility and the invitation to “come and share your master’s happiness!” I’m not sure if God is asking me to do anything major at the moment, but I can think of a few basic things. Like not raising my voice at my kids. Even if they throw a raging temper tantrum over not getting a second cup of juice (Micah) or refuse to go to the potty and then have an accident 5 minutes later (Sky). I think God wants me to thank my husband for all he does after he’s worked a full day—washing the dishes after dinner, playing with the kids outside, and telling me to sit down and rest awhile. (Oh my goodness, he deserves some kind of award, doesn’t he?)

I’m also pretty sure God is asking me to spend some time every day appreciating His blessings. A walk by myself early in the morning. How happy Micah gets when I give him a “nanna” (banana). A hot cup of tea. Sky cuddling up to my tummy and feeling the baby move. The happiness Adam brings into the house when he comes home from work.

Maybe if I say yes to the small things, there will be bigger things ahead. Or maybe it’s that a million small things add up to something significant. Either way, I want to be a person who listens and says yes to God.