Saturday morning Molly and I went out on a simple Mother/daughter date....we like to go treasure hunting for books, clothes and “whathaveyou” at various 2nd hand stores in the area. When the teens were little we always had a rule that they couldn’t ask for things in any store (had to make their requests know before we went inside to help with the “gimmies”… we did have an exception to that rule though… if we were at a 2nd hand store or a garage sale, if they had their own $ or not, they could always ask for books. We thought this was one indulgence that we could afford them that had lasting rewards.) We pulled up to the Salvation Army and weren’t even sure if they were open yet, so I went to the door to read the hours… they had just opened minutes before, so we actually were one of their first customers of the day. Once we made our way over to the book section we immediately sat down on the floor in front of the book shelves, our familiar spot. We know that our stay in that area is bound to be the longest in the store so we got comfy. As she and I were searching the shelves for the latest treasure that might delight one of the kids I let out an “Oh, wow! Look what I found!”… I didn’t realize that I had made such an exclamation until I saw not only Molly give me her immediate attention but also the older woman who was to our left who had also been searching through the books wanted to share in our find as well. In my hand was the book that I had just seen online the day before on a blog from a mother of children from Ethiopia!
Fire on the Mountain by Jane Kurtzis a book of a fable that is told all across the nation of Ethiopia … sort of how most everyone in the US is familiar to the story of the “boy who cried wolf” this is story is as familiar to the Ethiopian people.. it is about two children (a sister and a brother) who are servants of a boastful rich man who makes a deal with the brother to see if he can stay outside in the wilderness and cold without anything but a few thin articles of clothing. If the boy makes it, he is given a start to a new life with his sister (given cows and money) no longer in servant hood and if he loses he and his sister are to be sent out penniless with no where to go. Well in the event you may never read the book… I will share with you the ending…the young boy ends up using the boastful man’s logic against himself and the kids are the victors.
Not that this book will teach a great lesson to our children or will it solve the world’s problems… but it did remind me of them and helped me spoil our children who aren’t in our arms yet with a book from the 2nd hand store too. Also on that day in that second hand store, when in my head off and on were thoughts of "how is this adoption going to work?", "will we really get to adopt these children?", "is this really you talking to us Lord?"… out of that… in a place I had been many times… appeared a book… a book for me… a book to remind my heart that the Lord said in the book of John that He would not leave us as orphans (John 14: 18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."), He is coming back for us again one day and while we are waiting for His return He has given us a best friend, a great counselor, one whom we can count on to guide us when we are confused and unsure of our way… a way to make it thru the cold of this world into His loving arms victorious.
To simply put it… I felt the Lord give me a hug right there in the store!
http://www.janekurtz.com/books/fire.html
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