So Hard to Say Goodbye

         For those of you that don't know Jeff and Ashley Brown they are the pastor and pastor's wife at our church. They are a young couple with the world at their fingertips. Up until 6 months ago they were able to go on a date night whenever they wanted, pick up and go for a weekend getaway whenever the urge hit them and besides caring for themselves they really only were responsible for their 2 dogs. That however was a little over 6 months ago. These past 6 months have been quite the opposite. They have been foster parents to two kids that are around 10 and 3 years old. These two kids have lived in lots of homes in a very short period of time and they have been dealt a card in life that is much harder than most.


        Since the children have moved in with Jeff and Ashley their lives have all changed. Jeff and Ashley suddenly had 2 kids that needed love and attention. They have given up date nights, weekend getaways and nights lounging on their couch watching their favorite tv shows. Instead it has all been replaced by caring for two kids who have never experienced the love and attention that most of us have been blessed with knowing. A 10 year old boy with no emotion, no excitement a wall has been built so that he doesn't have to be hurt anymore. When opening Christmas gifts at Jeff and Ashley's he showed no expression, said nothing and he was opening some really cool gifts! At a recent church league game Jeff came off the court when it was over and was greated by 3 year old Jaliegh she ran with her arms open wide yelling "DADDY" and Jeff said "well hey there beautiful." In that moment I was struck with a thought; I wondered if she has ever been called beautiful or told she was beautiful before living with the Brown's.

    As an outsider I have watched two children be transformed. I have witnessed them open their hearts and personalities because they were being built up and loved by the Brown's. I have also seen Jeff and Ashley give up their free time to love some children that otherwise would get no love. It hasn't all been fun either, they have patiently dealt with temper tantrums, cleaned up messes, and gone to multiple court hearings. I have seen Jeff and Ashley be transformed and fall in love with these two kids and this past Sunday at church when I saw Jeff and Ashley with the kids I couldn't help but tear up knowing that June 1st will be much harder on them than any of us can begin to imagine.

    A judge ruled that on June 1st the kids will move out of state to permanently reside with an aunt and uncle. This is good because they have an older sibling that they will be able to be reunited with. It is sad because Jeff and Ashley have an undeniable bond with these kids and it is going to be so so hard to say goodbye. My prayer for the kids is that no matter how old or how far they go they will never forget the love that the Brown's have for them and the love that our Heavenly Father has for them. I pray that the Brown's will have a peace during this transition and that even though it is going to be very hard I pray God will bless them with a comfort that can only come from Him.

   Please join me in praying for Jeff, Ashley and the kids. I also pray that God will create all of our hearts to be more like Jeff and Ashley's. I pray that we will all have hearts that long to serve God more than serving ourselves. Thanks to the Brown's for the lessons that you have taught so many!

Our Prayer for Meritt

"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." Ephesians 3:19



       We have searched, talked and prayed for a verse that we wanted to be our prayer for Meritt. A verse that has words much wiser than anything we could write, something we could pray over her long before she herself ever learns to read.  We have found many verses that pricked our hearts both for her and for us as her parents. We discovered that Proverbs has all kinds of wonderful wisdom for parents and there have been many other powerful verses that touched us more than we might have thought.  It was when we came upon this verse, Ephesians 3:19 that we knew this was the verse that we wanted to pray over our daughter for the rest of our days.

      I have been touched by knowing how blessed Meritt is to be born into a family that cannot wait to teach her the love that Christ has. It is humbling to think that there are children in this world tonight that do not know the love of Christ. It breaks my heart to think of the void that is within so many that have never met or will never know the love of Christ.

     21 days left in this pregnancy and we have spent so much time getting prepared. Decorating the nursery, washing all of Meritt's clothes and reading up on as many baby books as possible . We have prayed for Meritt everyday, we have prayed that our marriage will not falter, that our faith will not waiver during this new phase in our life.  The preperations are almost complete, it will soon be "go-time" it will be our time to learn, love and most of all get to teach this being the love of Christ!

   Thanks be to God for the gift of His love! Thanks be to God for entrusting us with this little Meritt Grace! We are so honored to be her Mom and Dad and we will continue to pray for her and do our best to show her the love that God has for her. Our prayer is that Meritt will grow with a desire in her own heart to share the love of Christ with all that she meets!!