It has happened to me quite a few times over the years. The first time was
in high school, and then it happened again in college. I get these
packages delivered to me out of the blue. They have my name on them, and
my address. Even when I lived in Texas, then North Carolina, and here in
Georgia, I hear a ring at the door and when I go to answer, this delivery
guy is standing there with a package addressed to Beth Templeton. He says
something like, “I have a package you need to sign for.”
And as an adoptive mama I have heard my door bell ring quite often with
these deliveries, as I suspect you may have as well.
In the early years, I just did what you have probably done many times as
well– I signed for the package. It had my name on it, for heavens sake!
Of course it is mine, right? And when these packages first started coming
to my door it simply never occurred to me to do anything else but sign my
name and take that package as my own.
I Did Not Order This!
Then I would, of course, open up this package addressed to me, but inside
was something I definitely did not want. These aren’t the gifts we ordered
to put under our tree this year!
Inside my package, the one with my name on it, the one I signed for and
accepted into my home, was something I had become quite familiar with–
Anxiety. Like I said, for years when the delivery guy arrived, most of the
time completely randomly it seemed to me, I just figured this package of
anxiety was mine.
I was anxious. I dealt with anxiety. Anxiety is a part of who I am…..
It seemed that signing for it made a sort of sense I suppose. Because I
had bought into the lie that if it is delivered to my door and if it has
my name on it– for no doubt, there were always things to be anxious
about!– then I would have to accept it and deal with it as a part of my
life.
Standing at the Door
And ever since then, if you could hear the things I say to myself, you
would hear, “I’m not signing for that,” repeated many times over the
years. Because what I have learned is that the enemy will take any
opportunity to offer a package that has a certain perverse attraction for
us. For you it may not be anxiety, but some other lie rooted in an
experience or way of thinking from your past. Perhaps rejection, or out of
control anger, or fear, or depression, or hopelessness….
But, my friends, there is great freedom and power in realizing that we get
to choose whether or not we receive these packages. You and I have
authority in Jesus to stand at the door of our homes and authorize entry
to those things that are True and Good from the Father’s hand. And we have
authority likewise to de-authorize those packages that contain lies and
deceptions from the enemy.
I Am Not Signing For That!
Certainly, as adoptive and foster parents, there is much we could be
anxious about for our children–the trauma of relinquishment, along with
neglect and even abuse for some of our treasured ones. And if you are like
me, you will find that the delivery guy will still try to trick you into
signing for that old package you used to receive at will. My guy seems to
like to drop by and try his old tricks at different times just to see if I
might sign this time. He’s pretty persistent. Sometimes he won’t show up
for years, and then sure enough, the door bell rings and I find myself
getting ready to sign for that package with my name on it. Adoptive
parenting has certainly provided some prime delivery opportunities for
sure! But no, I know better than that these days. That package is not
coming into this house, this heart!
So, I want to encourage us all today to take a second look at those home
deliveries. Is this package really yours? Does the return address say,
from: Father God, Heaven
If not, I invite you to say as I do, in a loud voice, with the authority
that is ours in Christ, “I AM NOT SIGNING FOR THAT!”
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Beth has been married to her husband Stephen for 27 years. They have seven children, ages 18-24. Several years after giving birth to three girls God called their family to the adventure and blessing of adoption. In 2000, they brought home a brother and sister, ages 5 and 10, from Russia. Then they returned to the same orphanage 18 months later and brought home two more brothers, ages 7 and 10. Beth’s heart has been deeply and forever changed as she has watched the love of Father God poured out on her whole family through adoption. She leads Hope at Home, a ministry dedicated to help adoptive and foster parents encounter the Father’s heart for their families, partnering with God to transform orphans into sons and daughters. For more parenting insight and encouragement in the Lord, go to Hope at Home.