Two daughters
Last night I had dinner with two of my adult daughters.
One just finished college with an education degree. The other only finished 7th grade, but has been working towards her G.E.D..
One is happily married. The other is single with two children, and has had many relationships.
One looked healthy and bright. The other, just coming out of a bad addiction relapse, looked gaunt and beaten, with even a tint of jaundice.
One grew up in our home, nurtured and provided for. The other grew up with alcoholic parents including a father who would beat and kick her, at least until she left home at age 13.
One will find a good job when she goes back to the U.S. The other can barely hold a job.
Our daughter Anna is visiting from the U.S. for three weeks. Besides hanging out with us and being a refreshing encouragement, she is helping with the ministry and brushing up on her Thai. She and her husband Ben plan to return in two years to work with us full time. The most exciting thing she is working on is a plan to involve her church in a long-term partnership with us in Thailand. We'll also be putting together some new videos. You can read more about it here .
The other, whom I will call June, is not literally my daughter. But we call her 'Daughter' and she calls us 'Mom' and 'Dad'. June joined The Well 3 years ago, was anything but a model student, then last year spent a few months in a recovery program. She recently tried working at factories but as we had feared, couldn't handle the 72-hour work week and other conditions. Her relapse occurred one year after her previous relapse, which itself was triggered by a rape. Relapse often happens at the one-year point in time. We're hoping she will agree to come back to The Well.
I have often thought how different things might be had we been able to care for June since she was a small child. She could have grown up nurtured and provided for, and given her strong intelligence might have an advanced degree by now. She has been a follower of Jesus for 3 years and seen a lot of healing, but we've seen that lives as broken as hers seldom heal quickly.
There are those who prefer to invest in caring for children over caring for broken adults. "It's far better to get them before they are messed up," they say. Of course they are right. But as much as Jesus loves the little children, He loves broken adult children just as much. And I find that investing years into their recovery can be just as delightful as investing years into a child. Because somehow when I love people who in many ways can be so frustrating and outwardly unlovable, the cross means more. Paul's point that Jesus died for us when we were His enemies rings loud and clear. I find myself pondering the deep, deep love of Jesus--vast, unmeasured, boundless, free.
My two beautiful daughters sat across the table from me. I beamed at them proudly.
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Reply #3 on : Tue June 17, 2008, 05:04:49