Ten years ago, there were two orphan boys ages 11 and 12 whose lives were hard and whose bellies were hungry. They had never known full.
Their lives were spent trying to figure out how to simply survive.
Their long days felt very, very hopeless. Their long nights were filled with prayers asking God to please notice them. Give them one more day of life. And somehow let someone catch wind of their cries that just seemed to rise into the night sky and dissipate unheard.
One day in the orphanage chapel service a worker challenged one of the orphan boys to stand in the midst of his nothingness and proclaim why he was thankful. The boy squirmed to his feet. He swatted the flies darting at his crusty face and stared down at his cracked and bleeding feet. He took his toe and twisted it into the dirt as knots of nerves twisted in his gut.
It is hard to be full of thanks when your belly and your life feel so empty.
Though he was mentally searching for something, something, anything…
his brain betrayed him and he feared getting smacked for saying nothing. So, he opened his mouth and forced out a praise song. At first the sound was an off key, slight attempt barely squeaking out this simple praise for God and God alone.
It was like pumping and pumping a deep well that only squeaks and creaks and produces nothing but muddy droplets long held captive inside the pipes. Eventually, the fresh water will rush out in rich gushes of delight. And so did the song of the little orphan boy.
He was as surprised as anyone. He’d never known he could sing.
The next day the other orphan boy was asked to stand and say why he was thankful. He too decided to sing.
Eventually, there were 12 boys who found themselves surprised by the songs they never knew they had. Twelve boys who made the choice to stand in the midst of their nothingness and give thanks. In this world they had nothing. But in God they had everything. And though it takes most people a lifetime to understand how things unseen are what really makes a person full, the young orphan boys found this truth in their songs.
I will continue this story tomorrow. There is so much more.
But for today, I want us to not shy away from whatever way this story pricks our hearts. Find the challenge. Let God speak in bold whispers to your soul. Grab some of these words and refuse the typical momentary inspiration in lieu of that unsettled feeling that this unfinished story is supposed to haunt us all.
And give yourself permission to be haunted.
Congrats to Amy Blankenship! You are the winner of my book ‘Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl’. Please email Holly@Proverbs31.org to obtain your book!
Lysa– I love you. I love your family. I love how you make my family a part of your family. You adopt a lot of orphans. The End.
This is such a blessed reminder to not turn from those things that haunt us, but to embrace them — they are the very things He uses to do His good work in us!
Good Morning Lysa,
This post stirs my coffee! We all have a song deep inside that we are supposed to sing. How we sing will be unique to the Lord’s plan for our life. Last night I was thinking about the song God has given me . Really. I have a song planted in my heart from God. Last night I recounted all the things God has said to me about this over the last four years. I sat on my patio and cried tears of joy. I can’t carry a tune but God has told me who will sing this song. ( ONLY GOD CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN!) It’s about Faith. God is continuing our conversation through your post today. As I poured out my heart last night to the Lord my boom box reminded me through Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Not Home Yet” I am still a traveler on the dusty roads in this world. The Lord told me I could sing. I had no idea I could do that either. I need to get the mud out of my pipes Lysa, and shake the dust off my feet. I am a faith walker. The Lord’s plan has always been for me sing in this world….just in a different way. His way. Thank you so much for this post. I am going to copy it for my journal. I pray you trust God MORE for the song He has given you…Teach the world to sing : ) Hugs B
I love this. I love the fact that in singing praise, there is no room for “I”. It is completely and totally about our Savior. When we look past our “I” and depend totally on God, He brings forth more than we can ever imagine.
I really needed to hear this message today.
I can’t wait for the continuation tomorrow. This is a great love story.
Sweet glory…I needed this today. There is a GRAND work going on in our lives…painful, scary, overwhelming, mystifying….yet we know who is in the midst of it all that He is the one who will be glorified as we “find” what is of right now unknown to us.
These boys surely know how to honor HIM. We need to follow their example. They do not have the luxuries that we have and yet they know how to honor him with their nothing. We need to be haunted until it becomes a lifestyle to praise HIM for what he has truly planned for us even though we cannot see it.
Lysa thank you for sharing that story. I feel it is something I need to hear. I feel spoiled. I am very grateful for all our Lord has blessed me and my family with. By reading the story it has shown me that I don’t need all that I have and that I can give much more. I am looking forward to hearing the rest of the story. Have a wonderful day. May our awesome God bless you in all you do. With Love and Prayers, Shawnia Phil.4:13
The choice to sing … the choice to praise. Oh that that choice would become a lifestyle … for me! It’s too easy to rehearse the aches and pains, the frustrations and disappointments. In our darkest day, Jesus is our Light.
Heart sufficiently haunted/pricked/moved-to-tears. Thank you.
Sandy
Girl, He is pushing me further and further out of my comfort zone lately and your story, this story just pushed me yet again. I have never, ever, considered adoption…I love it, love the difference it makes for the kids and for the families, but never even remotely considered it for my family.
Until the Haiti earthquake.
Then the stories came in and there was an urgent call out to families in South Florida to be on stand by in case they needed foster type homes for some of these orphans.
There is where God opened a small crack in my heart.
The children never came over and I felt like God was just trying to pry open a door that I had slammed shut and that would be it.
Until my husband and oldest son (16) just got back from Haiti on a missions trip last week and that’s when I saw a my son holding the most precious little boy (probably 3 or 4) and my heart completely broke into pieces.
I have no idea what God is doing but I know that He IS doing a work on me and as much as it is “uncomfortable” I also know that our lives as Christians are not meant to be “comfortable” but BOLD for Him.
Thank you for sharing this today…I’m awaiting the next steps on this great adventure!
Bunches of Love,
Mel <3
This gave me tingles and pricks all over. I can’t wait to hear the rest of it!
Hi Lysa,
Your messages are really meaningful for me. I look forward for Monday for them to begin my week.
This one today, is extra special. My son, who would be 48 as of last May, had a voice that shocked me and also my family. I heard it when he was only 8 years old. However, he was so shy about it that he would not sing for us after we made such a delightful issue. How sad. But he did sing years later; along with the radio, and also in church, But not a solo. I love my memories of him.
This is why this story is so special to me. I am looking forward to tomorrow when you continue.
Thank you so much for your wonderful service in Christ.
Thank you for this story. I have been in such a struggle and I am not sure what direction to turn. You have made that clear, I need to look up and sing and let the answers come from prayer.
This was difficult to put in to words. The conviction stings. My heart feels broken. I still have so much to learn about being humble. Thank you Lysa
Thank you Lysa,
God has been working in my heart the past 5 months to teach me how to praise, I mean REALLY praise Him! Anybody can praise the Lord when life is peachy – our bellies are full and we have every desire for comfort and peace met. Your story today is such a perfect example of making a choice to praise the Lord in the midst of the darkest of circumstances. Just like Paul’s example in prison! Ironically, the Lord has been using the words of praise songs, specifically some old, old hymns to really fill my heart and my mouth with gratitude all day long! It’s amazing how those songs can turn a grumpy heart around! I can’t wait to hear more tomorrow…
Blessings,
Molly
Hi Lysa,
This is really convicting me of my need to praise, even though my heart is very heavy, and I admit it’s hard to do. Please continue to pray for me, including that I would praise the Lord each and every day, and for Him to deliver me, and keep me safe. Thank you.
Oh, it’s good, this haunting. I want to run from it so often. I love hearing this story, Lysa.
Praising like that when there are no obvious reasons to is such an amazing God concept. Oh, that we all could have the inner strength and faith of those little boys…
When we don’t know what to say and when we don’t know what to pray, God hears the cry of our hearts. He helps us find Him in our searching. Even when we don’t know exactly how we ended up finding Him the way we did, He draws us, He is near to us, never far away… He hears our cry and our song.
This is just the meaning of it all, isn’t it? Staying tuned…
Hi there Lysa! Thank-you so much for allowing yourself to be used of God. I have been so encouraged by your words, they have helped push me closer to Jesus. I have had the privilege of meeting you twice, once in Dallas and once in Tulsa. The first time I just broke out in tears…thanks for encouraging me that it was the Spirit moving.
Thank-you so much!
May I give you a prayer request? I mentioned to you when I met you in Dallas that my husband & I were thinking about adoption since we did not have any children yet. We are in the process of filling out a pre-application form for domestic adoption. We do not have the money on hand to complete the entire adoption, so if we go, we go by faith. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that to God, the money is nothing. He will send it where and when He sees fit. Would you pray for us…that God would show us what He wants for us, even if it is only one step at a time? We want to be competely obedient to Him, not running ahead of Him and not just sitting on our hineys either!
Jesus bless you!
Although I know where this story is going, I still am awed and inspired every time I hear it. I have passed this story along to many people since hearing it a few years ago. It is an amazing God we have the honor to serve and the story of these boys remains a reminder to me that all He wants from me is sincere worship. Even in the poorest, hardest of times, these boys worshiped their God in the best way that they could. We should all take a page from their diary of life and worship our mighty, loving God in the best way that we can, however that looks for you, just like these boys did.
Lysa, I recently heard you tell this story at the Renew You conference in Apex, NC.
I have passed it on to everyone I’ve talked to since then because it is truly stirring.
I can picture the boys because you paint the picture so vividly. Their praise to God out of their brokenness and nothingness was inspired by the Holy Spirit within. This would make a magnificent Christian movie if it had the right director. Move over “Blindside,” Lysa’s got a story that tops them all! Your Jesus girlfriend, Laura
Lysa, Thank you so much for sharing your heart and your love for Jesus with us. I also have a prayer request. My husband and I have been married 22 years and we have two children, Jared who is 18 and Jordyn who is 15. Jared just left for college. My husband has always said he wanted to adopt but I didn’t think he was serious about it. Fast forward to about 3 weeks ago. While watching the 10 o’clock news, which we never do, God placed adoption on my heart and a very specific little girl. To make a long story short, we have started the adoption process. I’m scared and excited at the same time. Please pray for us that we are doing God’s will in all of this and being obedient to him. This is a total step out in faith on our part and I have no idea where this journey will take us. But I do know God is with us.
Thanks and God Bless you.