God Has Big Plans!

God is so amazing! Even when we think small, He's thinking big. When we think in terms of minutes, He's thinking years. We know that He is planning something very important for our little Lily Grace and we just can't wait to see what it is. So it's time to tell this story and share with everyone what God did for us in China. We did not yet have Lily Grace, still a day away from meeting her for the first time.

God taught us so many things while we were in China. He taught us to slow down and see how blessed we were. He showed us a densely populated country filled with the most friendly people we have ever met, yet who have not met Him. He showed us more history in a few weeks than we have been able to learn in our lifetimes. We saw the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. He showed us the heart of China in the Forbidden City and Tian'amen Square. He taught us the elegance and beauty of another civilization by showing us their acrobats and artwork.

But beyond everything else, He showed me that I am to teach Lily Grace about Him. He showed me this in the most powerful way I could ever imagine. Right in the middle of Beijing and just a few blocks from Tian'amen Square on the doorsteps of the most beautiful, Christian church I have ever seen, God set before me a young Chinese girl who told me in broken English "I want to know who this Jesus is!" Here's the story. I am sharing it because I want to tell as many people as possible that God has special opportunities for us and we don't know when He'll present those opportunities to us. We need to be ready at any time. In this case, I was not fully prepared and feel like there was much more I could have done, should have done, and will try to do in the future. Telling this story is part of that.

On our last day in Beijing, the day before we were to get Lily Grace, God woke me up at about 3:00 am. I wasn't happy about this, because I knew that in a few short hours, we would need to leave for the airport and I would need some sleep to navigate the Chinese protocols at the airport so we would get on the right plane. Unable to go back to sleep, I began to read a pocket Bible that I had taken with me. After a half hour or so, I decided that it was time to get back in bed and try to sleep. But God had other plans. This time, He had me sitting in the hotel lobby, scribbling some things in a journal I had been keeping for Lily Grace.

Finally, around 5:00 am, I decided that I would go back to the room and try to get at least a couple of hours sleep. Still, God wouldn't let me sleep. He told me to get dressed and go out of the hotel and walk. Not knowing where I was going or why, I got dressed, grabbed my camera, and went for a walk. It is amazing to see a city the size of Beijing as it wakes up in the morning. The merchants are beginning to set their wares onto the streets, hotel bellhops are sweeping the sidewalks (they sweep alot!), delivery trucks unload their goods, a few buses ramble by signaling the beginning of another day of overcrowded travel, a few three-wheel bicycles offer a stark contrast to the harried travel of the buses. There were even a few locals walking their dogs. Thus, another day begins.














After some aimless wandering, I finally turned in the right direction and in a few blocks came across the church - the first I had seen in Beijing (and only one of two I would see in China all together). I had seen this building the day before, but from the perspective of rush-hours traffic and so had not paid much attention to it. With the early morning sunlight, I was stunned at its beauty, its majesty, and couldn't resist going up to it. Inside the foyer (an open air foyer) were beautiful pictures of Jesus and Mary and many scriptures in the Chinese language. I couldn't believe my eyes. I turned and there was this girl, reading the scriptures and viewing the pictures. I was so surprised that I asked an obvious (and dumb) question of her (I was in such a shock, that it didn't occur to me that she might not speak English) - "Is this a Christian church?"

She looked at me and said in her broken English "I think so, yes and I want to know who this Jesus is!" Uh ... I'm sorry, what did you say? Well, we practice, practice, and practice and try to convince ourselves that we are capable of answering this question to it's fullest whenever we're asked, but we want God to give us opportunities according to our own plans. Don't put us on the spot, God. Let us plan the opportunities out ourselves and what we would say and in what order. I was caught off guard and probably didn't respond as well as God would have liked me to. I certainly didn't respond as well as I would have liked to. When we think small, God thinks big. He gives us opportunities according to His time.

The girl asked if I believed in God and I said I did. I explained to her that Jesus was my Savior, but could have done a better job telling her why. I was scared. I didn't want to mess this up, it was too important and I was caught off guard. We spoke a little while, asking where each was from - she lives there in Beijing, so I hope that she visits the church frequently. The church was having a service (we could hear beautiful singing) and so I urged her to go in and visit. I wish I had taken her in myself because as I watched her, she seemed content to remain outside and look around, but ... I couldn't do that God, I'm not dressed properly, I have a plane to catch, I've got to wake the others up, get breakfast, arrange transportation to the airport, you know, a lot of important stuff ...

It took me a few days to realize it, but I really believe that God was showing me that I have the most awesome opportunity one could imagine set before me - to tell a little child (Lily Grace) who has never heard His name all about His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness. The girl in the church foyer, while representing a ministry opportunity presented to me by God at that moment, was symbolic of my own Lily Grace as she grows up and whom I would see on the very next day. It's funny, this week in Sunday School, we studied about God giving us second chances through the experiences of Jonah. If Lily Grace represents my second chance, I pray that I am never caught off guard and that I am able to fully answer her when she says "I want to know who Jesus is."

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace