Yesterday we celebrated Gabre Day. The day that we first held our sweet girl in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia when she was six months old.
Sometimes that is so hard. Sometimes I want to live simply and think more of others than myself, but then there are other times. Times I walk through a store and want to buy more, own more, or become envious of those that have more. But then I am reminded, that I have so much more to give.
During the early morning hours of Gabre Day, I was reminded of this once again. I had a dream where I had just left a meeting and couldn't find my car in the parking lot. While I was searching, a homeless woman kept asking me for money. I kept telling her I didn't have any. She was relentless. "I Have Nothing to Give You!!", I said. And out of no where there was another woman. She came up to me and pulled a $100 bill from my pocketbook that I didn't know I had. It stopped me in my tracks as I tearfully gave the homeless woman the $100.
I woke up hearing "You have more you can give". So I will strive to give more. To show more love. To Love Well and Live Differently.
Thank you Gabre for leading me closer to God.
Reflecting on that day, I feel so many emotions. Sadness at how she spent the first 9 months of her life and all she has lost, Joy that she is now home with us, but mostly I feel Thankful. I am thankful for what her presence has created in our lives. This precious child has taught me so much more about how to love and how we are loved. And I have yet to even catch a glimpse of how great our father's love is for us. She has expanded my world and broken my heart for what breaks His. And she has motivated me to do something about it. I Can live simply so that others can simply live.
Sometimes that is so hard. Sometimes I want to live simply and think more of others than myself, but then there are other times. Times I walk through a store and want to buy more, own more, or become envious of those that have more. But then I am reminded, that I have so much more to give.
During the early morning hours of Gabre Day, I was reminded of this once again. I had a dream where I had just left a meeting and couldn't find my car in the parking lot. While I was searching, a homeless woman kept asking me for money. I kept telling her I didn't have any. She was relentless. "I Have Nothing to Give You!!", I said. And out of no where there was another woman. She came up to me and pulled a $100 bill from my pocketbook that I didn't know I had. It stopped me in my tracks as I tearfully gave the homeless woman the $100.
I woke up hearing "You have more you can give". So I will strive to give more. To show more love. To Love Well and Live Differently.
Thank you Gabre for leading me closer to God.
 |
| 6 Months old, May 30, 2011 |
 |
| 17 Months old, April 2012 |
