Today we see in part. Someday we will see in full.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks about the reality that today we know only a part of the story, but someday we will know in full. Recently, my daughter, Carolyn, asked,“What we are going to do for all of eternity in heaven?” While I fall far short of being able to answer that question completely, I suspect that, at least for some of the time, Jesus will tell us stories. Not fables or fiction, but real life stories of how He gave beauty for ashes; how He reached down into a dark and broken world and brought forth light and truth and love in someone’s life. Stories like Marianne’s. 

Marianne grew up as an orphan in Muldova, an eastern European country with historically, spiritually-rocky ground. As hard as that was, that wasn’t the end of her story. Marianne’s heavenly Father reached into her life, and adopted His daughter through the work on Jesus Christ on the Cross. Today, Marianne is now married to Oleg, a pastor. Together, they share Jesus’ love with brothers and sisters and spiritual orphans whose greatest need is to be adopted by their Father.

Pictured here, is it even possible to miss the eternal hope and joy that defines them? When we GO on Vision Trips, we spend time with children who were orphaned and abandoned, but that is not the end of their story either. They are growing up; so much life ahead of them. How many children in GO Project partner villages will someday have stories similar to Marianne’s? We hope all of them, but we don’t know that for sure today. Their stories aren’t our to write. Jesus is the Author, the Perfector, and the Finisher of their faith story, but as their brothers and sisters, we are so grateful to be invited in to His beauty-for-ashes adventures….and one day, with great anticipation, we look forward to knowing the rest of the story -in full!