Fingerprints and noseprints left on the storm door glass by friends peering in. Chalk scribble on the sidewalk. Trips to the corner store for a treat. Ice cream trucks playing music in the distance. Four preschoolers chattering around a sprinkler. These are images you cannot replicate. These are the experiences of raising children in the city.
Someone recently told me that the reason he moved out of Philadelphia was because it just got to dangerous for his daughter. I told him that our children are safe only because God takes care of them. Of course we have our share of fears. But God calls us to be grateful for the pleasures the city gives us and trust Him for the rest.
“The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there." This is what the LORD Almighty says: "It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?" declares the LORD Almighty.” Zechariah 8:5,6
(Pictured above are our children playing in the school yard near our home.)
2 comments:
Dana, thanks for posting these messages. Urban ministry can wear you down, the darkness can feel SO dark, and the light of Christ in our weakness can feel so small. Thanks for the encouragement.
It's a journey, isn't it? Now that we have 2 boys we are raising in Germantown as we continue church planting, we are faced with a whole new set of concerns and choices to make in life and ministry. What's best for the boys? What's best for the ministry? Why do we think that the God who gave us both children AND this ministry would not enable us to parent and serve in an integrated way? It's usually my own lack of trust in God that causes me to worry. Thanks for being there and being committed to your family and to bringing the gospel to the youth in philly.
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