Saturday, June 13, 2009

Let My Life, O Lord, Praise You

Do you ever wish you could do more? I wish I could. . .
 
Do you ever wish you could be more? I do. . .
 
Do you ever wish there was more? I do. . .
 
More. . .Wishing. . .Dreaming. . .
 
Yesterday, I went to a family reunion. A place where we get to catch up on everyone's lives that we haven't seen for days, weeks, months, and years. A place where bonds are formed. Friendships are created and strengthened. Love abounds. Laughter and smiles are abundant. 
 
In this particular family reunion, I got a chance to once again bond with my mom's 2nd cousin, Christy and her daughter, Nichole. Christy is so much fun! She's a mom of 3, Nichole (15), Nathan (13), and Elizabeth (12). And she just recently became a foster mom to 2 precious little girls, Kali (6) and Hannah (4-today). And if anyone was made to be a foster parent--it would be Christy. She is so ridiculously strong. She has thing presence about her that cannot be ignored, in the best way possible. She is very forceful but in a safe, loving, and fun way. If that doesn't make sense--you'd just have to meet her!
 
Anyway, we started talking about how and where she got involved. She said that she felt God calling her to be more influential and presented The C.A.L.L to her and her husband, Gary. They prayed about it and felt like being foster parents was what they needed and were called to be. Christy was telling me all of this, telling me that it is so rewarding to be that influential in someone's life. I told her that I have always wanted to do that. I used to ask my parents if we could foster kids. We never had the money or the space for them. I cannot wait to do this in my life.
 
I'm 21 years old. I know that I'm no where near emotionally and/or spiritually ready for this. And God knows that I won't be financially ready for it for a while (or until I give Him the reigns--I'm working on it) unless He decides to do something HUGE in my life. But in a way, I cannot wait. I can't wait for God to bless me so much that I almost can't handle it. I can't wait for this calling to be carried out into completion. Rewarding feels like such a lame word to describe how I'm going to feel when this happens. Blessed? Blissful? I don't know, maybe rewarding is the right word. Who knows? 
 
We sang a song in church this morning entitled, "Praise You". It had a particular phrase in the song that spoke to me about this weekend. "Let my life, O Lord, Praise You." I want my life to praise His Holy Name. I want my actions and how I live my life to exalt Him.
 
"I cried out to Him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue." --Psalm 66:17
 
"My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long." --Psalm 71:8
 
"I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations." --Psalm 89:1
 
"But I will give repeated thanks to the LORD, praising Him to everyone." --Psalm 109:30
 
Everyone who asks me, "What are you going to do with your life?" "What's your major?" "What's your calling?"
 
People ask me, "If you could do one thing with your life, what would it be?"
 
Well,  here it is: "I want to be a mom." That is always my answer. Whether the word foster has to be in front mom or not, I want to be a mom, always have.
 
I will be praying this through pretty much until it happens. I'm believing that this will happen in my life. When? How? I don't know, but God will be completely in it. 
 
The next post will be chapter 4 of that book. I just wanted to write about this. 
-katie

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