Gifts Can Be Hazardous
Today I’m sharing My Hazardous Faith Story as part of a synchroblog connected with the release of Ed Cyzewski and Derek Cooper’s new book Hazardous: Committing to the Cost of Following Jesus. See how you can participate below.by Judy DouglassI’m a giver.I love to give—encouraging words, desirable gifts, needed money. And life challenges.I always want my gifts to please, lift, help, awaken...God is also a giver.He assures us that He gives good gifts.My experience, however, has been that His gifts often have deeper purposes.Sometimes they are truly hazardous.The most hazardous gift God has given me is our son.Twenty years ago God sent a nine-year-old boy from a very difficult situation to our family. From the beginning, he provided significant challenges for us. He came with the results of his birth mother’s neglect, alcohol and drug abuse: learning disabilities, ADD, attachment issues, no ability to reason cause and effect, incredible need for center of attention. That was just the beginning.By his late teens, we were fully into the world of rebellion, poor choices and their consequences.Our son took us into places we knew nothing about. Calls from the school principal were not to tell of his latest accomplishment, but about his latest escapade and the possibility of expulsion. We became familiar with the juvenile justice system and traffic court. Would the late-night calls be from the jail or the hospital—we got both. He and his friends lied to, stole from, took advantage of and abused us and our home. Drugs, alcohol, sex, accidents…The way was deep and dark.This was a gift?Oh yes. Hazardous for sure, but surely a gift.Amazingly, this boy had a positive impact on our ministry. Because we did not hide our struggle, but lived out the journey in appropriate ways before our staff, we found new doors of ministry opened.The greatest impact was on my relationship with God. We were helpless and therefore driven into His arms. My honesty with, trust in and hope in God all grew in amazing ways.A wonderful online prayer community—PrayerforProdigals.com—and a June 2 Worldwide Prodigal Prayer Day blesses thousands around the globe. It is truly my son’s ministry. And he still gets prayed for.God gave many other specific gifts through this one hazardous gift:I know I am totally dependent on God—I have never been able to make his life work the way I wish it would.I learned to pray—really.I know for sure that God will never give up on me—and He enabled me to not give up on that boy.I have a better understanding of unconditional love—and that it doesn’t require love in return.I am able to attest to God’s unfathomable love and grace. I am so grateful for that love and grace.I am able to share hope and courage with others. And more.So this is where I tell you all is well, right? We’ve weathered the storm and survived this hazardous gift.Well, mostly. He has become a responsible, hard-working man. He desires to make right choices. He brings joy to me. But he finds it hard to entirely escape the darkness. Things from his past still come back to bite. We’re in a little bit of a hard place right now.I wouldn’t, however, trade this gift for anything. Sure, life would have been easier, safer without him. But the gifts produced by struggle and pain make him a valuable gift, a priceless treasure. Plus I really love him. Thank You, Lord, for such an incredible gift!What about you? Has God given you a hazardous gift?C2012 Judy DouglassClick over to the Synchroblog.How to Join the HAZARDOUS SynchroblogThe synchroblog starts Monday, August 27th and runs all week until Saturday.Write a blog post sharing a personal story about a challenge you faced as a follower of Jesus. (You could also add: “I’m sharing My Hazardous Faith Story as part of a synchroblog connected with the release of Ed Cyzewski and Derek Cooper’s new book Hazardous: Committing to the Cost of Following Jesus.”).At the bottom of your post, link to the synchroblog landing page: http://wp.me/PewoB-SN so that others can share their own Hazardous Faith Stories (Hey, you can just copy and paste these bullet points!)Add your post to the link up section at the bottom of the My Hazardous Faith Story landing page on Monday-Saturday. Don’t forget to read and comment on at least one other post!Tweet your post with the #HazardousFaith tag.Include this image with your post: 400 pixels or 250 pixels width.
