A Place Called Simplicity

My husband is not a big computer guy. He is not into video games, he doesn’t spend time on the ESPN website, and he isn’t into social networking. I guess as parents of young children we have too many other things on our plate in this season of our life.

The one exception is a blog called “A Place Called Simplicity.” (A link is below.) My husband is rather fascinated by the blog. I rarely read it myself, but he is always telling me about new postings. As a result, I feel like I’m a vicarious follower of the blog.

http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/

The blog’s author is a woman in Colorado named Linn. Her husband was a lawyer, who had a successful practice, and later became a pastor. I believe Linn has been a professional counselor of some sort. In the blog, she has shared her story of battling infertility and then being moved to adopt children—a lot of children! I believe they have ten. Some are adults, some are young kids, and there are some at various stages in between. The children are of various races—Caucasian, Asian and African. They were adopted from several different countries.

The blog features pictures of the children, and describes various joys and challenges in their lives. The family has endured all kinds of horrible tragedies that have been memorialized in the blog—illness, house fire, a stalker. Yet their faith in God never seems to waiver. And indeed, their faith is repeatedly validated as minor miracles occur. Even in their times of struggle, God always seems to find a way. My husband is fascinated by their experiences, and enjoys tuning in to read the latest posts.

Though I rarely visit the blog myself, I find it fascinating as well. It you read some of the older posts on adoption, you hear about this woman’s passion to do God’s will in caring for orphans. Clearly, this is her calling in life. Her passion for her children, and her openness to bring new children into their family are awe-inspiring. I hear about all she has done for children in need, and feel like our family has really dropped the ball.

Linn’s narrative obviously strikes a chord with many. Visitors to her blog make mine pale by comparison. She has over a thousand followers, and has had over a million hits to the blog since its inception. Amazing!

Recently, my husband and I have been concerned for this family we don’t even know. Linn has shared on her blog that a double whammy has hit. She has battled a number of serious health issues over the years, but in the past she has been healed or otherwise been able to persevere. Recently, she has had some troubling symptoms and had to have a biopsy of her thyroid. The results were inconclusive, but something seems to be very wrong. They are doing more tests and consulting with other doctors. However, the second half of the double whammy is that they just lost their health insurance.

I’ve known people who faced life-threatening illness and did not have health insurance. It is not a good situation. So, my heart breaks for anyone going through that. It is bad enough to be facing serious health issues, but even worse if you are not sure you will be able to get access to treatment to save your life. The situation is even more heart-breaking when young children are involved.

My husband and I have been touched by Linn’s response to her current situation. She says she is going through a variety of emotions, but is very buoyed by the prayers of her readers. Linn reports in the blog that she is hugging her children a lot and making memories. My heart breaks for her children.

I realize that not everyone who reads my blog is a person of faith. But if you are, I would encourage you to lift Linn and her family up in prayer.

John 14:18 (New International Version)

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

James 1:27 (New International Version)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.