New Experience

In the last few months we have been working on adopting our third child from foster care, and tonight we finally signed the petition to the court and will get a court date tomorrow.

As all kids, David is unique amongst our family. It isn't his skin color or his gender, it is his development. In many ways David is delayed, behind for his age; although delayed may not be the right word because that implies that there will be a point in time where he will catch up. Like a flight that is delayed can make up time in the air.

So, as a father, my expectations and points of joy will be different for David than they are for my other kids. Of course I was ecstatic when my kids learned to walk ; I will be ten times more when David walks because I know how much harder it is for him. In many areas David's potential is less than others; but that is balanced by his potential to experience and give joy to others in simple ways.

This got me to thinking about how God looks at us, his children. He gives us different gifts and combinations of gifts, he gives us different experiences, and different abilities. One person's potential to learn Bible stories, understand Greek, etc., is different than another's potential to feel God's presence. Neither is invalid, it is different. As humans it is in our nature to try to compare ourselves to others and the easiest things to compare are the tangibles.

How great that God looks at the intangibles (though He created us so all things are tangible to Him) and sees us as we truly are (through the good and bad he sees us as He created us - Good)!

For all of us, just as earthly parents, God expects us to live up to the potential he created in us!

(OK, tangent on physics and energy - potential energy is only useful when it is converted into kinetic energy (motion / work))