Amazed and Astonished

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Preparing for Worship 5-19-13

                “…you have received a spirit of adoption.  When we cry, “Abba! Father!”  16it is that very Spirit     bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”  (Romans 8:16-17)

Preparing for and growing into our adoption with Sara has been a monumentalSara and Dad journey for me.  In the beginning it was about imagining and re-imagining myself; who I am and who I might become through adoption.  I had no idea how this adventure might turn out.  I didn’t even know if I was really ready.  But, I knew it was right for me to dive in.

When we first took Sara to a large gathering of people ( Synod Assembly last spring with 400 other church leaders), we were amazed at the conversations we had.  Again and again people would come up to us and tell us of their adoption stories.  Often it was adopting a child, but some were of their own adoptions.  What we saw in their faces and heard from their hearts was the power and strength of life and hope that had come to them through adoption.  We had no idea so many people in one room could have been so powerfully touched by adoption so as to come up to us and visit with us about Sara and their lives around adoption.

One of the great joys I had recently was visiting Library Story Time with Sara, who is there regularly with Shannon.  It was my great surprise and delight to be identified and known as simply “Sara’s Dad.”  No other title or anything.  I loved it!  Truly she is not just ours, but we are hers.  This adoption thing has begun to change who we are, indeed.

Do you recognize this spirit of adoption?  Paul talks about it in our second lesson for this Sunday.  It is very much the same way in which we get caught up in the life of Christ – slowly and surely Christ becomes part of us and we become part of the body of Christ.  This is God’s work and it is amazing.

Pastor Mitch