SACRIFICE
"to suffer loss of, give up"
"the offering of something precious to a deity (God)"
"loss or deprivation"
(definitions from Merriam Webster Dictionary)
"An offering made to God for the purpose of showing respect"
(definition from Layman's Bible Dictionary)
LOVE
"Unselfish, benevolent concern for other persons"
"To love God supremely and others unselfishly are the two most important commands of Jesus (Matthew 22:37-40)"
(definition from Layman's Bible Dictionary)
This picture is a perfect representation of a mother's sacrificial love for her children. Our Ethiopian sons smile joyfully with their Ethiopian sister - 3 children, 3 families, 1 divine plan.
I count it a priviledge to sacrifice my time, my resources, my sleep, my plans, my person & even my sanity at times, but I praise the Lord each day that I have not been called to sacrifice as the birth mother's of my children have. This picture was taken for Mama Medina (Ethiopian birth mom). Our sons's sister's dad will be embarking on a mission trip to Ethiopia in October and plans to visit Mama Medina. It is my greatest prayer that she will be able hold this picture in her hands and feel the deep love of Christ that is growing in the hearts of her beloved children. That she would know her only requests voiced for her children, "to not forget their siblings" and to "go find your sister" have been honored. That her sacrificial love for them is the very love that has allowed them to be loved by us. The Lord has placed these words from Ephesians 3:17-19 on my heart as a caption to this picture & a blessing to Mama Medina..
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
