Digging Deeper

Just when I thought I was living as "big" as I could for my Savior, God asks more of me. Just when I was starting to get a little prideful about how "pro life" and "over the top" I've gone in my life, He raises the bar and I fall pitifully short of complete surrender. Notice that photo to the right of this post. It's our adopted son, Lemuel, and his biological brother, Ariel? God has clearly, although not audibly, let me know that THIS young man needs us to serve him in a radical way. He is in a shelter for street kids in The Philippines. He is cognitively delayed. He can neither read nor write. He is nineteen years old and his future is uncertain at best. I don't know to what God is calling me but I have been given little rest from the thoughts plaguing me regarding Ariel. For several years, we have prayed for him, sent packages and occasional donations to the agency caring for him and we even helped him apply for a tourist visa to visit us here in the US. The visa was denied based on the fact that he has no ties to The Philippines and is not likely to return after the visit. Now, God has lain on my heart that all-too-familiar feeling that He is calling us to dig deeper for Ariel's sake. For Jesus' sake, for His fame. I am scared. I have a beautiful daughter, young children. Our house is small and our budget is tight. What does my Savior want from me in this situation? Are we to bring Ariel HERE? Is it even possible? Are we to pay his way through life in the Philippines so we know he always has a roof over his head? As I pray through these weighty questions, Proverbs 3:27 stays at the forefront of my thoughts . . ."do not withhold any good thing from those who deserve it when it is in your power to help them."