I have been sucked into a spiralling vortex of adoption sites and fund raising ideas for adoptive families, and I have Jen Hatmaker to thank for it. Ok, maybe not just her. This has been weighing heavily on me for a while now.
So when my dad asked me to enter a piece of art into the 2012 Southwest Dallas Arts Festival, I didn't have to look far for inspiration--especially since the theme this year is "Discarded / Reclaimed."
Here's a shot of the finished piece, right before I popped it in its frame.
But the finished piece isn't really the whole picture. I treated the canvas as a prayer journal and layered thoughts, prayers, hopes, fears, and more onto the surface while I prayed (and wept) over them.
I've done this a couple times before, and I've always been a little sad that the first layers are forever covered by the later ones. So this time I took photos along the way--a lot of photos--and compiled them into a video. I'd love for you to take a look!
Throughout the process, I noticed a circular effect of overwhelming grief followed by hope and rejoicing. Over and over the Holy Spirit took me through this. I found I was spending a lot of time looking at the faces of waiting foster children in Texas. And when I told some people this, many of them told me I needed to stay away from that sight--it's just too sad. But doesn't that seem a little strange? Is avoiding the problem ever going to help find families for these kids? If I look away, it might prevent some pain in my heart, but those children are still living it every day.
Finally, I realized that this was the final message I wanted to get across concerning the orphans and adoption. Don't look away; don't close your eyes. In fact, do the opposite. Seek out an orphan, find out a little something about her, and pray your heart out. Ask your adopting friends how you can help. Maybe you can have a garage sale in their honor to help with legal fees? Lastly, don't let yourself forget that they exist. They do, and we are responsible to help. Deuteronomy 16 talks a lot about feasts. "...and you shall rejoice in your feast...and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst." Don't you know that we are all sitting down to our own feasts--yes even in this difficult economy--and we all have something we could share.
Here are a couple of resources you might want to check out.
Texas Adoption Resource Exchange
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