Monday, May 11, 2015

Best. Mother's Day. Ever.

This is my 15th Mother's Day as a mom, if you count the one following my first pregnancy, which ended in miscarriage. I've received a lot of sweet crafts and cards from my kids, and flowers, chocolate, etc. But this year tops them all.

First, 10 days ago my girls took me on a special early Mother's Day date. Eliana paid for lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory and then the new Cinderella movie. It was a red letter day. We loved the food, enjoyed our time together immensely, and were enthralled by the movie. It was wonderful!

Then, when Mother's Day actually arrived, I had the honor of sharing the podium at church with my delightful 14-year-old daughter. It wasn't originally planned that way, but two events -- my preaching and her announcement -- just happened to find their way to the same day on the calendar. Mother's Day was the occasion for my invitation to preach, but because of Eliana, yesterday was also "Compassion Sunday."

Months ago we received a letter in the mail from Compassion International. Because the child we sponsor shares a birthday with Eliana, all the mail from Compassion is addressed to her. This one invited her to become an advocate for Compassion International by hosting an event at our church. It caught her attention. A few days later, we were on campus together at Multnomah and a volunteer representative from Compassion just happened to be there manning a table. I was busy meeting with a student, so Eliana wandered over to the table to find out more. Without any involvement from me, the correspondence between them continued over the ensuing weeks. Before long a box came in the mail for Eliana with photos of children waiting to be sponsored, a T-shirt for her to wear, and posters to hang at church. She met with the Compassion representative along with one of our pastors to plan the event.

Yesterday I sat proudly in the front row and watched Eliana address our congregation and introduce the Compassion volunteer. She looked completely at ease as she give a stirring plea for all of us to consider. Where did this beautiful, responsible, articulate, and motivated young lady come from? And what happened to our little girl? The best part was that Eliana planned the entire thing from start to finish. What a gift to see God at work in and through our children!

Wait . . . that's not all. By the time we packed up and headed home, 13* new children had sponsors! Way to go, Eliana! That's the best Mother's Day present I can imagine.

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*Update: Some folks took a week to think and pray about sponsorship. By the end of the next week's services, the grand total rose to 20 sponsored kids as a result of Compassion Sunday!

In case you missed the press release in 2013, Compassion International submitted to an independent study by academics in the social sciences to find out if child sponsorship really works. The outcome far surpassed expectations. Compared with un-sponsored kids from the same families and communities, sponsored children grow up to earn more, learn more, be healthier and become leaders in their churches and communities. Sponsorship empowers young people to exit the cycle of poverty. Educating girls is the single most effective strategy for alleviating world poverty.

For related blog posts about inspiring kids to make a difference, click here and here.

2 comments:

  1. Carmen and Eliana,

    I wanted to share with you that this years Mother's Day has also stood out to me as one of the best so far as well! I want to thank both of you for sharing your passion, your gifting and your time with us yesterday at church. I walked away, as did my family, feeling very fulfilled and excited with your words. Carmen, to have you up there preaching yesterday was a dream come true for me. I have longed for a woman of great devotion to God, with brilliant articulation and knowledge to deliver a message from our pulpit. Mother's Day was complete because of your wiliness. Thank you for sharing a most powerful story of redemption, following the story and line of Ruth. Thank you for your vulnerability in sharing your own story of loss and redemption. My heart resonated with you. Our first baby was also lost to miscarriage. And we have seen our Father in Heaven lovingly care for us and provide. He has given us a foster daughter to foster for 10 months, a daughter I was able to birth into this world and another one growing in my womb right now. He has blessed us with many middle school students over the years to mentor, love and follow through seasons of life. We will redemption coming full circle! Thank you for speaking to many of us in all seasons of life and for making Mother's Day meaningful, purposeful, despite pain, memories distress. Thank you for helping in our healing and pointing us to the one who heals us holistically, heart, soul, mind, body and strength.

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  2. Anna,
    Thanks so much for this! It was an honor to share God's Word on Sunday. It's a blessing to be part of your church family.
    Hugs,
    Carmen

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