Being a Hearer and a Doer

This week I started reading one of the books we are required to read as part of our “Adoption Training”. It is called “Seed from the East” and it is an autobiography of a woman named Bertha Holt. In 1954, Bertha and her husband, Harry, attended a presentation about the many children in Korean orphanages following the Korean war. Many of the children were mixed race and so they were not accepted or wanted in Korean society. The Holt family (they had 6 children at this time) quickly became involved by sponsoring many orphans in Korea. They soon realized that the Lord wanted them to do even more, and they committed to bringing 8 orphans home to become part of their family.

It feels like I’m writing a book report! Sorry. I just wanted to give you some background info before telling you what has been going on in my head and my heart as I’ve been reading this story. I am only about half way through, but I already know the end of the story (vaguely). They adopted many children and there is now an adoption agency called “Holt” that works with many countries. They had a huge impact on the world because of their obedience to the Lord.

So here’s what has struck me as I have been reading this. The Holts were ordinary, regular people. They lived on a farm and had regular lives. Bertha cleaned the house and did dishes and washed clothes and took care of her children. They were a strong but average family.

And then God stepped in.

The hand of God is evident in their lives, and as I have read their books, I have just been feeling…hungry. I want that. I want that for my life – to have the imprint of God’s hand all over it.

So I started thinking about what that means. As I got to know the Holt family, I realized a few things about them.

First of all, these were faithful people. They followed God through the good and the bad without wavering. Their faith was strong. They didn’t sit around worrying, because they knew that God would show up (and He always did, by the way!).

They were also people who prayed. And I don’t mean the “saying grace before a meal” kind of praying. I mean the “on their knees pleading with God, day in and day out” kind of praying. They went to the Lord when they were desperate. They went to Him when they were thankful. They went to Him when an unexpected trial came up. They went to Him with everything.

What has hit me the most, though, is that they were people who listened, and then obeyed. They were walking with God, knew what He wanted them to do, and then did it. It was not a fancy, emotional kind of thing. They didn’t make a big deal out of what they were doing. They just did it. They didn’t set out to change the world – they just set out to obey their God, step by step. Little did they know how God would use them!

So this is what I’ve been pondering this week. What does God want me to do here, right now, with what I have? I know that so many times when I know that the Lord wants me to do something, if it is something I think is difficult I will put it off or let it go until I forget about it. But that is not who I want to be. I want to be a hearer and a doer.

I would definitely recommend reading this book, even if you’re not adopting. It’s not just a story of adoption, it’s a story about how God used two ordinary people to do some pretty extraordinary things. It will encourage you for sure!