The Plan - Part 2

When we accepted eight teenage children all at once, I had serious doubts about how this would turn out for the children's home.  But along with that, came the conviction/reminder that perhaps God was bringing these young people here as part of his plan for them to hear about Him and his message of love and salvation for them.  No matter how long they stayed (we had agreed on a one month trial period), it became my hope that their experience here would help them move closer to their knowledge and understanding of God's truth and plan for their lives - that it would plant a seed that they would remember at some point in the future.

It is now three months later, and two of the eight kids still remain (the others have been returned to the care of a family member).  One of the young men has become amazingly outgoing in the things of God.  He is quick to read scripture with confidence and conviction  in the congregation.  He is kind and thoughtful towards others, and does the tasks asked of him with a positive attitude.  As I observe him, I smile to think that surely he is the reason why we were asked to take in these kids.  The Word seems to be being planted like a seed in the good soil of his heart.

The other boy is... a different story.  I also thought about him this week, as a staff member told me how he breaks the rules, mocks others, has a bad attitude about the chores assigned to him, and tells us he needs things beyond the abundant generosity already shown to him.  I want to be certain we try to teach him a different way, before these smaller issues grow into bigger issues.  But the difference between the two boys stood out to me starkly, and I wondered how much longer the second young man will last here.

However, it wasn't long before I was corrected in that way of thinking, for who can truly know the heart of man beyond God?  We look at the outward things, but God looks at the heart.  Often the outward things are signs of what is on the inside, but many times they are not.  And so I remind myself not to count chickens before they're hatched, and to have equal hope for both of these boys - and for the others as well.  Wherever life has taken them, may God meet them there.

May all of us begin to see ourselves and others more like God sees us and less like the world sees.