I must admit something: when I realized it was my day to post on the blog, I wondered what I would write about. Usually, I reflect upon something the Lord has been teaching me recently or a spiritual insight from a friend or church that I’ve recently heard. I paused to think– over the past two weeks when my family has been packing our house to move (for the 5th time in a year and a half thanks to April 2011 tornado and other life twists and turns), what spiritual lessons have I been experiencing? The truth is, I have taken such little time to pause in the midst of lots of busyness to listen to the Lord or spend time in His Word. I think to Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of the Lord: the beauty of the a knowable and approachable God is that He meets us where we are. We see this in Scripture: he met men fishing, begging, taking care of daily chores–and paused to teach them in their midst. So to us now, we can trust that He meets us while we’re packing boxes, while we’re disciplining children, while we’re filling out adoption paperwork, waiting for a referral, actively raising funds, praying for children half-way around the world, raising children through grace and prayer–wherever we are. Let us challenge each other and encourage one another to train a discerning mind and conscious ears to listen to what He would be teaching us in the midst of our circumstances: for me, I will be thinking more today about patience and grace with children, gratefulness for an abundance of provisions–material and immaterial, waiting and praying with faithfulness for our children to come home. Let’s listen in the midst.