Abandoned

I don't know what it's like to literally be abandoned even though I can have feelings of abandonment from time to time. It's hard to imagine being left on the doorsteps of a church (or any other place for that matter) unwanted for any number of reasons but that is reality for many people. I can't pretend to understand completely what people feel having been abandoned but my heart hurts for them. Sara's sister Carlie and her fiance, Patrick, came to visit us for the weekend and we had a great time together. Not only am I thankful for Sara's family but I'm thankful to have such a great future brother-in-law. His story is a little deeper than most people I know. From what I understand Patrick was abandoned as a child and finds it difficult to believe in a God who allows children to be abandoned. My heart hurts for him and I hope as our relationship grows I might be able to share with Patrick the message of the gospel in a new light. If anything, God has a heart for the marginalized, the disenfranchized, and the abandoned. He has not turned his back on them but on the contrary yearns to bring them close to his heart. It is not a message of abandonment but of adoption. God is waiting for us to renounce the stories that have defined our past and claim the promise of adoption as his children. My prayer is that my life might be a reflection of that message in ways that Patrick might be drawn to healing grace and find his place in the open arms of God's family. May God be praised!