See, I Am Doing a New Thing!

Listen:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

Reflect:

We were foster parents for 5 years. In that time, we adopted our son and cared for a child who successfully was reunited with her mom after almost a year in our care. Our final placement was two very high needs children.

For the first time ever, my husband caused an accidental mark on our foster daughter (that was only documented because we took a photo and reported it like protocol says to). Because of our honesty, he was arrested, charged with a child abuse felony, deemed unsafe to be around children (including our own) and forced to live apart from our family for 6 months. Forget the former things? Do not dwell on the past? Anyone who has faced any injustice, tragedy, trauma, or heartache knows that these are not simple instructions.

I picked this day to write, because it marks to the exact date, 2 years since I took and submitted the photo that got my very loving husband who is the best dad I know (besides my own dad), arrested and charged with a crime. After deep grieving, yelling through tears “Where are you God?”, processing, and pursuing forgiveness, we arrived at green pastures. God was preparing it for us all along the broken way. The amount of healing, restoration, and abundant blessing and favor that God has poured out on our family is almost unbelievable.

“I am doing a new thing!” is a promise that God is working. It is the assurance that nothing it too big or hard for him. It is a reminder that Jesus became flesh and that no earthly injustice can cloud our heavenly hope. If you are without hope today, you can hope in Jesus. Even when you can’t see it, he is doing a new thing.

Prayer of Response:

God, you amaze me. You are good when things are good and you are good when things are horrific. You are my redeemer. You restore what is broken and somehow make it even more beautiful. I praise your holy name and sit in deep gratitude for the way you rescued our family. It was not the way I thought or in the timing I wanted and there are still hurts for me to process, but your ways are higher than my ways and I submit to your will. It is a joy to serve you, even when it means walking through a really unfair and hard valley. I love you and I am yours forever. Amen.

Questions to Ponder:

• Do you trust that whatever you are walking through is not too big for God?
• What honest, bold, angry, or broken lament do you need to quietly pray or yell from a mountain top? 
• If you are in a dark valley, what can you do today to choose to live and walk in hope?

—Submitted by Erinne Baker
Erinne and her husband Travis live in Klamath Falls, Oregon where they are raising their four kids: Charlotte(11), Benjamin(7), William(6) and Wyatt (3). She is a pursuer of truth and learner of what it means to trust God and live a life fueled by love and grace. She is an ordained pastor and has a blog called: http//:truthseekeraskingquestions.com.