Today Kyle and I became friends with Bob Goff. For real. We went to hear him speak at the Bethel University Homecoming chapel, and afterwards Grant introduced us. Grant had already become friends with Bob earlier this morning.
Bob has been part of our story for a while now. I first read his book a year ago, and I’ve been sharing it with family and friends ever since. Love Does is part of the reason we’re adopting two Spanish-speaking teenaged boys from Colombia. Kyle was just taking his turn with the book when we met Felipe and Jimmy. Bob told Kyle to “Just Say Yes,” and he did.
Earlier this week I was praying for the boys and the adoption. I was imagining what it would be like if the adoption never happened. What would happen to our lives?
I decided life would go on. Nothing much would change. We’d still have our jobs and our ministries, and our own terrific family. Our really good lives would probably continue to be really good. And all the normal things we’re already doing would continue to be normal.
But it wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be complete.
As I thought it through that morning with God, something occurred to me. Something I’d never really thought about before. Perfect lives are not necessarily complete lives. It’s not the easy things, or the normal things, or even the really good things that complete us. It’s the big things. The big God-sized things.
Something Bob said this morning confirmed what I’d been thinking. Bob talked about how when you’re really living, and you’re really loving, it puts you on the edge of “Yikes.” And the edge of yikes is the very best place to live.
He was talking about love. (Not rock climbing or cliff diving. Luke.) The edge of yikes is that place love takes you where your palms sweat and your pulse races, and you know it’s exactly where you’re supposed to be.
It’s how I feel about Felipe and Jimmy. Yikes. In all the right ways.
We skyped with the boys again this afternoon, and it was great. Great to see their faces and great to hear their voices. Every time I see them I think how amazing they are. How amazing it is God brought us together. How glad I am for this adventure. Every stretching, challenging, unnerving, terrifying part of it.
Yikes.
Comments