Missed Opportunities......

One day last week I was half listening to the television when the subject came up concerning the doctor who had implanted the 8 embryos into Nadya Suleman. If you are not familiar with her legal name she is also know as “Octo Mom.” The conversation stemmed around the fact that the doctor had been reprimanded for his actions, and I can’t tell you what action was taken against him because I really was only half listening. Yet I was able to grasp the fact that Nadya voiced an opinion that he should have been left alone because she felt he had done nothing wrong. Before I go any further with this, I must tell you that I am neither for, nor against, I have no opinion on what happened before the babies were born. But for some reason I could not shake thinking about Nadya and how she and her 14 children were doing? Her octuplets will be one in January.

When Nadya gave birth almost 1 year ago, there was so much media hoopla about it! Everyone had an opinion and with each passing day things seemed to get worse and worse for her. After the first day or two, I refused to watch anything else about it, and since I don’t listen to the radio that much I was spared from all but one radio talk show. A friend took me to run a few errands and had on a Christian radio talk show and Nadya was the topic. In that 20 minute ride, there was very little love and compassion for her. One woman called in and tried to say the kids were a blessing and the host beat her down about how God didn’t do this! Man did! Now I ask you, “How crazy was that?” Is God not still in charge of life? I was glad to get out of the car and move on. As I look back to that time I see that I really didn’t talk about it much to anyone, and the reason being I thought that with all that was going on with the high gas and food prices and everything else in my life, it was not worth the time and effort that the world was investing in this. But last week the Holy Spirit of God corrected me by showing me how not only did the “Body” miss an opportunity to show the love of God in this situation, my ignoring it, was another missed opportunity as well. Hum, I think you all know what it is like to be corrected by God. It is not pleasant, but it is profound and is an expression of His love for us.

This correction led me look at Nadya and her babies apart from how they were conceived, and to just focus on their birth. Wow!! I did miss it and so did the Church! I know all to well what it feels like to be judged by those in the Body of Christ. When I was pregnant with Tovah and hospitalized two times, no one from my church even bothered to come and see me. I was part of a woman’s Bible study and it was announced and still not one person came to see about me. I had nothing in preparation for the birth of Tovah and to top it off she was born 2 months early. My friends from the world (meaning those not professing to know the Lord) helped me more than the church did. In fact the church helped me very little. That was over 16 years ago and the Lord used what our enemy meant for evil, as good and thus was born my ministry of helping women and children in crisis. So, why is it that I didn’t look past all the hoopla to see that this woman was in trouble and could really use some help? Truthfully I can’t really say why I shut down on it, and I’m not going to beat myself up about, but it has made me ponder how many opportunities we might be missing on a daily basis?

Think back to the time her babies were born, and picture women of God and church assemblies stepping up to help her, what a testimony that would have been. I am saddened by the fact that God’s girls didn’t step up and step in. Oh, and I am included in this too. Even from Philadelphia, I could have had a baby shower for her little ones, and encouraged some of the many other women I know all over the United States to sponsor a shower or two. Some of us could have started a drive just for disposable diapers. There are companies where you can purchase them online by the case and ship them anywhere in the USA. And the Christians, who lived in her area, could have done so much more to help her. Yet we didn’t. I can’t say that there weren’t any Christians who didn’t help, but what we do know is that the Body of Christ did not seize the moment to shower this hurting and confused woman with His love. We too, sat back and judged the situation falling right in with all the media hype and opinions. It was the number one topic for awhile, at the barber shop, the hairdresser’s, the doctor’s office, the nail salon, the post office and even at checkout counters because people where reading the tabloids as they stood in line. But the truth of the matter is, 8 human beings were born, with a soul and a purpose to a woman who needed all the help and love she could get.

In retrospect it seems the world was willing to help her more than the Church. Of course it had to be something in it for them, but they still offered her something. She received an offer of $1,000,000, to do porn. Praise God she passed on that! But we know that everyone doesn’t pass or else pornography wouldn’t be a multi billion dollar business. Nydia did do several interviews in the beginning to make some money, but they seemed to just rake her over the coals and that soon stopped. And presently there is talk of a TV reality show, something like “Jon & Kate, plus 8” type of show. She says, she has agreed because she needs the money, and I really can believe that. We can’t say for sure if the involvement and love of God’s daughters would have stopped her from having the need to do a reality show or not, but we do know that many seeds could have been planted and watered this past year. We, (the Body of Christ) missed a great opportunity to show God’s Agape (unconditional) love in a huge way. So what does this all mean? I think we should pay closer attention to Luke 6:37, and be a little more careful about how we judge situations and people.

My dear sisters, I want to challenge all of you to look around this Holiday season and see if there is an opportunity to give love (God’s love) to someone you might be overlooking. You might have a neighbor or relative that has been judged for the number of children they have had and could use understanding and help. I have a friend who has 10 children and she and her husband were judged viscously by members of their church. Yet, they are not on welfare, have a nice home, she homeschools all the kids, and the two oldest are attending college. The children are well fed, never dirty, raggedy, or ill mannered. So why did their brothers and sisters in Christ have so much to say? They never asked the church for anything. They always believed that God will provide for all the children He blessed them with. Her husband has a good profession and the Lord has blessed the work of his hands as He promised. In witnessing the judgmental attitude of Christians on a family that grew and blossomed in the confines of marriage and God, and personally living through judgment and condemnation as a 40 year old unwed mother, I’ve come to see that we are so very much like the folks that judged Mary (mother of Jesus, Yeshua). And I don’t think this is pleasing to our Father.

As women we love to shop and guy gifts, especially for those we care about and are close to. And there is nothing wrong with that at all. But, is there an opportunity to love on someone else outside your circle? That is the question of the day. It is not about the gifts, but love (God’s love, that action taking love) that could prompt you to make a commitment to yourself to lend a helping hand to someone in 2010, in a way that will change their life. Small things go a long way in the Kingdom of God. You can visit an elderly person on your block once a month and have lunch with them. Sending a card (snail mail, not internet) every couple of weeks to someone you don’t get to see often can be the encouragement they need. Giving a single mom a night off or some time on Saturday once a month could really be a big help to her. When you have small children it is a blessing just to be able to take a bubble bath in peace, or even go grocery shopping by yourself. Get creative my sisters and let’s look for opportunities to change a life by showing the Love of God.

I hope I have inspired you to give a little more of you in this gift giving season. If it is a celebration of the birth of Christ (Messiah) then why not give Him something? And
Matthew 25:34-40 tells us just how to do that.

Love & Hugs
Ponnie