This past Friday night, we had a great night as a family! We surprised the kids with tickets to see Brandon Heath and Toby Mac in concert. All six of us are huge fans of Toby Mac and his band "Diverse City". I think that each of us knew the words to all the songs he sang. It was such a fun night to spend together. We wanted to give the kids a memory and celebrate the current family of six that we are. In some ways we have said "no" to our kids a lot in these past adoption process months, so that we can say "yes" to having their new sibling come home....so it was great to surprise them with this night out. I hope that they will remember it for always.
If you know anything about Toby Mac, you know that his band is called "Diverse City" partly because of the beautiful diversity of races represented by those in his band. When I looked at the band on stage - it was gorgeous! And, it made me eager for heaven, for it is then that I believe that all colors and races will be truly at peace and we will all be colorblind - won't that be so awesome? I long for that day.
I've been much more aware of the need for us to be colorblind lately. I was loaned a book to read called "The Help" recently. It is placed about the years when Martin Luther King Jr and his mission was starting to affect our nation. The book is from the perspective of black maids and the struggles they went through. "The Help" is a work of fiction, but I know that some of the stories are probably very true as to what people experienced. And, unfortunately, I know that some of those prejudices that we all wish to believe are gone, are still around in some ways and lived out by some people. And, now, as I prepare to bring my child from Ethiopia home, I worry about how they might be treated by someone who doesn't value them as I do or as God, their Heavenly Father values them. That scares me and hurts me already, even before I have met my child.
So, as I wait for our referral, I become more acutely aware of the prejudices that still happen these days in so many different ways.....and I challenge myself to be more aware and more proactive so that we can all be colorblind and celebrate the beauty and diversity of all God's people!
