Takes Life to Give Life

A good friend of mine used to always say, "It takes life to give life" when speaking about us women having babies.  It seems like being pregnant, giving birth, and the stressful times there are when having an infant around with no sleep does take the life out of you.  Some more than others of course.  I was blessed with, in my opinion, two very uneventful pregnancies that were a joy and yet they did take the life out of me.  It wasn't until I had babies that I had to get glasses, came down with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, and more!


I was thinking today that while I am not pregnant, this adoption also fits under that "It takes life to give life" umbrella.  Sadly, here is why:  today I was feeling like I didn't want to give up some of those comforts of life that we have had to give up in order to proceed.  I don't like seeing something in the store and not be able to buy it.  Even simple things like gardening gloves or maybe even the ability to purchase the supplies to make a garden this year.  I don't like the thought of not being able to go to Hawaii in the next few years (unless we win a trip!!!).  I don't like the thought of having to scale back my teaching, scale back the amount of work I get done each day, and so on.


And yet while sitting in the car waiting for my hubby to finish up his errand, the thought came to me that this is what it means "It takes life to give life."  I think it also sums up this verse:

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."  1 John 3:16.

Here it is again in The Message version:

"This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear."

When the Lord brought that verse to mind today, it was such a strong and yet loving reminder of His plan, His will, and His love for us.  It was humbling, and yet it was wonderful at the same time to hear the gentle reprimand of my loving Savior.

Shocked to hear my heart?  I hope not.  I am so ashamed I had such selfish thoughts, and at the same time, I am soooo thankful the Lord is good to gently guide our hearts if we are willing :)

Deanna