Taste and See

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him." Psalm 34:8

It seems almost impossible to put into words what we experienced in Zambia. We are affectionately calling it an Ephesians 3:20 trip because Father did “exceedingly, abundantly above all that we asked, imagined or dreamed"!  He went far beyond what we thought was possible! We saw scripture come to life before our very eyes. 

When we released our book of Brexton’s story in February 2016 I personally wrote in many copies John 12:24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain, a plentiful harvest of new lives!" We believed it was possible and declared it by faith but we had no idea how it would actually come to pass since we were so deeply grieving Brexton's death. We believed it even though we could not "see" it or understand it. For two and half years we declared that Brexton's death would somehow produce a plentiful harvest of new lives. And I know that often times we declare and believe and don't necessarily get to “see" the harvest this side of heaven. So gratefulness flows from my very core that the Lord allowed us to "taste and see" these new lives, these boys that were rescued from extreme poverty and neglect and placed in Brexton's House. 

It's still not want my mama heart wants...I still long to hold MY boy. Our pain is deep and real but on opening day before the boys arrived, we stood in Brexton's House and His Presence was thick and tangible.  We prayed and then shared just a small piece of Brexton's story, his legacy of hope and healing, with Greer Kendall, the Founder of Family Legacy. And when we walked outside to meet the boys it was cloudy and in the very clouds I felt the Presence of the Lord hovering over us. Then the Holy Spirit spoke powerfully to these boys through Greer and I could not stop the continual flow of tears! Here's a small portion of what was spoken that day to Brexton's boys:

“You will now tell people, ‘I stay in Brexton’s House.’ And you might ask, what is Brexton?  Not what!  Brexton is who!  Brexton is the name of a boy.  Brexton was a boy like you that had some challenges.  He was growing for 10 years but he had many challenges.  This family prayed God would heal their boy Brexton. The family prayed so much...the family had hope for 10 years. Today as you move into Brexton's House that they built in memory of their son that passed you must know that the prayers they prayed for Brexton weren't only for Brexton. But they were also for you! They didn't know it but God knew it! The prayers for Brexton were also prayed for you! Even before this family met you today they have been praying for you because God heard their prayers for Brexton. And now those same prayers cover you! And the hope and future for Brexton will now be found in you boys! You are receiving the legacy of Brexton!”  Even as I type out these words and hear them again the tears continue to come, steady and strong. "You are receiving the Legacy of Brexton!" Twelve boys are receiving a legacy of hope, healing and restoration!  They are part of the plentiful harvest of new lives! 

I am not trying to be super spiritual because this has not been an easy journey for us. There is still so much we do not understand, so much we cannot explain. And yet...we have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord. Four days after Brexton died Martin and I stood up at Brexton's funeral and declared Psalm 27:13 that "we would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” On this trip the Lord opened my eyes to see yet again what He can do through death if we will not allow bitterness, anger and confusion to swallow us up and consume us. We can struggle, we can grieve, we can come to the table raw and undone…but we must continue to come!

Several days after the opening of Brexton’s House we visited the compounds (slums) these boys were rescued from and His goodness began to overwhelm me once again. What we saw and smelled and felt made me almost nauseous.  At one point Kenzington put her hand over her nose because the smell was so strong.  As I held her I told her we needed to smell it and take it all in so that we would never forget what God rescued these boys from.  To think of the depths of God's love...that He would be willing to sacrifice ONE SON to save so many more that were living in the midst of filth and death and despair!  Oh the depths of His love…may we all “have the power to understand how wide, how long, how high and how deep is the love of God.  May we experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully…” (Ephesians 3:18)

Beloved...there is so much pain and tragedy in our world today, so many tears and so much sadness. But would you join me today, in this season, and declare that we will taste and see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living IF we do not lose heart and give up!  We shall reap, we shall receive, "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that we may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”  Isaiah 61:3

P. S.  We are working on a video of the opening of Brexton’s House to share so stay tuned for that!:)
 

Walking through Chaisa, one of the many compounds in Lusaka that Family Legacy is rescuing children from.