Blessing Cards

Being a minister is a unique profession which has, like every occupation, its challenges and benefits. The challenges include things like moving often in the early years and not being able to put down roots in a specific community, and the routine of trying to write sermons, teach classes, plan worship, attend meetings, provide counseling, manage budgets and personnel, fundraise, recruit and train volunteers, perform weddings and funerals - all in a "typical" week. Like other professions, the work is never finished or caught up. But what makes it really tough is that preachers are supposed to do all this, AND always be upbeat and smiling when you see us...:0)

But the work sure is rewarding. To be able to offer the hope and challenge that we believe to be the Good News for everyone, is a daunting responsibility and high privilege. To walk with people through births, baptisms, confirmations, graduations, weddings, Communions and funerals; to share with them in the most vulnerable and universal of human experiences, is pretty incredible. And while it is perpetually exhausting, it is wonderful and I cannot imagine doing anything else. I am grateful for the gift of being able to dwell in the House of the Lord, with his people. 

But tonight, I just want to briefly lift up one gift we have experienced from being a part of Christ's church. 

For whatever stories you hear about "church people" being judgmental or hypocritical or whatever, and despite the truth there may be in the stories, we have experienced that belonging to a network of Christian friends has been a tremendous gift. Our brothers and sisters in Christ have brought us  great encouragement, especially through this adoption process. Over the course of the last few months, we have received "Blessing Cards" from friends and family who we notified of our intentions. We invited them to write out a prayer or blessing upon a card that we sent them and return it in the stamped enveloped we included. We have received about twenty-five and love to read through them together every few weeks. Below is a card we received from a dear lady and friend from Pell City, AL:

It is our plan to take all of these and put them in a scrapbook to give to our new child to keep for the rest of their life as a reminder of how we and God loved them before they ever knew it. If you are reading this post and would be willing to offer your prayer of blessing, please send it by email to nathan.l.carden@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you and allow your well-wishes to echo through the years of our child's life. 

We just want to say how thankful we are for sharing life with people who are willing to support us in this journey. And on a night when I am exhausted from the demands of a Sunday, it is little gifts like the one above that let me know we have good people in our corner. 

We deeply desire to show God's love to one of His own by making him or her one of our own. Please be in prayer for all five of us during this journey. 

In God's grace - 

Nathan, Kameron, J. Henry & Amelia ( and Baby #3!)