Jan. 1, 2008

January 2008 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!  I can't believe I'm already writing "2008" at the top of this letter.  It seems like I just got used to writing "2007."  I remember my parents (and their parents) saying that time seems to speed up the older you get, that one day you sort of look back and wonder where all those days and months and years went.  Well, I must be getting old because time seems to be going faster than ever.  Maybe my impression is influenced by the fact that our kids are growing like weeds!  I can't believe how big some of them are getting.

December and January are always somewhat reflective months for me.  I try to take time to look back at the year that was (or sometimes the last several years).  My hope is that by looking at a longer period of time it will become clearer to me the ways in which the Lord has been working in my life and in the lives of those I know and love.

Recently, I had a chance to spend more time than usual with Ana.  Ana is a little 10-year-old girl at the center who everyone claims is my favorite.  In reality she is only ONE of my favorites.  J  Since I spend most of my time with the 5th through 8th graders, I don't get a ton of time with Ana since she's only in 4th grade.  But for the last two weeks she has been doing her homework by herself in the dining room (a natural consequence of her not being able to do her homework with the other kids without constantly being distracted by and/or distracting others).

The older kids and I eat lunch an hour earlier than the younger kids.  This is partly because the older kids have to leave for school around the time of the second lunch and also because there are so many kids now that we can't all fit into the dining room at the same time.  So the last two weeks I've gotten to see Ana while she does her homework and we eat lunch.  And I can't believe how big she is getting!  Just last year she was still having me hold her hands so she could walk up my legs and do back flips.  Well, that's not possible any more.  I don't think there's a real point to my rambling.  I'm just noticing lately that our kids are growing like normal kids.  That's encouraging.

While I spend time looking back, especially in late December; early January is for me (and I'm sure for many of you) a time to look ahead.  It's a time to hope and to plan.  It's also a special time of prayer for me.  This is a time when I like to express my hopes and dreams to the Lord.  I'm a firm believer that He invites us dream with Him and that our prayers to this end actually matter.  Of course, I want to spend time listening, as well.  I want to know the plans and dreams He has for the children.  He knows what is truly best for them in every aspect of their lives.  And He has a great plan for them.

I want to close this letter by saying thank you.  Thank you for being so faithful this past year.  Thank you for supporting me.  Your prayers, your words of encouragement, your sacrificial giving – these all mean so much.  Thank you for continuing to open your hearts to the children.  Thank you for praying for them.  Thank you for learning their names.  Thank you for creating space for them in your lives.

I pray that the year to come is filled with God's presence in your lives.  I pray this year He will have words to speak to the children through you.  Though there are many miles between us physically, we have the same Spirit uniting us.  May He open our ears and our hearts to hear His voice.

Love,
Paul

paul.rase@wordmadeflesh.com