When I was a little girl growing up on the mission field in Germany, my mom and dad would often teach the children using flannelgraph. I still remember sitting on the edge of my seat with anticipation waiting for that next piece of flannelgraph and continuance of the story. My parents were awesome storytellers. They loved to leave each story with a “to be continued” ending which would be followed by moans and groans of all of us kids. It certainly worked and everyone came back the next week to hear the next lesson.
One of my favorite flannel lessons was the story of Ruth and Boaz. I can still see those figures of Ruth, Boaz, the wheat, and so many other pieces of flannel that unfolded a story that would later serve to remind me of God’s Hands of Purpose.
Ruth is still one of my favorite books to read in the Old Testament. There are so many nuggets of wisdom one can glean from the pages of this book. In one passage, “Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.” Boaz wasn’t content just to allow Ruth to glean the leftovers. He wanted to make sure she was well provided for. Boaz was actively involved (working behind the scenes) in her life. He wasn’t content just providing a means for Ruth to be blessed, he wanted to be the provider of the blessing.
When we began our adoption process we heard from so many friends and the adoption agency that gaining any knowledge of your child’s past, pictures, or videos was virtually unheard of. Still, I prayed that we would be the exception. I wanted to know our little girl’s past. I wanted to hear her voice, see her first attempts at sitting up, crawling, and first steps.
Last week I was walking on the treadmill early one morning when my phone started buzzing like crazy. When I saw I had messages from the Sisters in China, I figured they were just checking in on Teagan. As I opened the messages I was amazed to see new pictures and even video footage of our little China girl. They even shared stories about Teagan’s childhood, from chicken pox to bribing her with candy to get her to crawl. I couldn’t believe my ears were hearing and my eyes were seeing milestones that I thought I’d never have the opportunity to witness.
At that moment I knew God was pouring out His handfuls of purpose and I was gleaning in His field that He’d long before planted, knowing that harvest time would come and I would be the recipient of His abundant love.
Just the Right Size 