QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The law says, 'do this,' and it is never done. Grace says, 'believe in this,' and everything is already done."
-Martin Luther

ADOPTION IS HARD (PART 1)

...and it's not supposed to be easy.

 

In fact, we were fairly warned that following Christ would come with a cost.

"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"

Matthew 16:24

Adoption follows Jesus' example of love and predictably, adoption is hard. But, trusting God, we decide 

we can do hard  because we're not functioning in our own strength, but the strength of the Lord.

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13

"But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'”

Matthew 19:26

"But [Jesus] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Adoption is riddled with potential difficulty (isn't life in general?), but every challenge is prime

opportunity for God to sweep in and use our circumstances to train us to be more like Christ.

The fruit of the Spirit grows through adversity, so may we never shy away from such privilege.

Here's the tip of the iceberg of the HARD = FRUITFUL/GOOD THINGS we realize we can

anticipate and have already experienced through the blessing of adoption with gratitude:

WAITING = PATIENCE/SUBMISSION TO GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY & RELINQUISHING CONTROL

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord and submit to His perfect timing and plans. When we let go of control, God takes control.

He is always in control anyway, so we realize it's best to recognize this out the gate and allow Him to be God. I remind myself often,

He is very good at being God...and patience takes root.

"But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with

wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:31

"Even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand;

I act and who can reverse it?"

Isaiah 43:13

PERSECUTION = FAITHFULNESS/CONFIDENCE IN GOD & SUBMISSION TO HIS PERFECT PLANS

Not everyone will understand adoption, but that's to be expected. Most things that clearly identify the Spirit of God stir discomfort,

even opposition, from others who may not clearly discern what God is doing.

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

2 Timothy 3:12

As it is, not everyone can relate to our love for our big family or our choices to live things out differently from our cultural norms, but God gives us confidence in Him and His plans, so we stand firm on what He has chosen for us and follow Him into more. In all areas of our lives, we should be most concerned about what God thinks of us and fight the temptation to fear man...and faithfulness multiplies.

 

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:2

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11

DIFFICULTY, EVEN TRAGEDY = JOY IN TRIALS/ INCREASED FAITH IN A TRUSTWORTHY GOD

The email came through and it hit us like a ton of bricks. Malaria. Typhoid. Scabies. Etc...And those are just the physical ailments. Undoubtedly, the spiritual and emotional battles will come. But God is in control, I remind myself (again), and trust returns.

Even through tragedy, sometimes especially through tragedy, God draws us to Himself and we find His strength, not ours.

We trust that He is good no matter what and that He uses all things for our good and for His glory.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,

for those who are called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

We pray for our little ones so far away in Congo and entrust them to God's loving care. And I think, How can we know what we have signed up for? We can't. But can we know this in any aspect of our lives, even in the things that seem to be "certain"? Nothing is certain except that God knows what He is doing and whatever comes to pass is of Him and His will. In that we trust and follow Him into the unknown, expectant that He will work all things, especially the hard things, for ultimate good...and joy takes flight!

UNKNOWNS/FEAR = PEACE/BELIEF & TRUST THAT GOD KNOWS ALL & HE IS LOVING, WISE, & GOOD

Being in the "paper pregnancy" stage of adoption, I'm well aware that my understanding of just how hard adoption is remains quite naive as of yet. As I reflect on the last 12 years of parenting my firstborn and five others since, it's glaring just how much I didn't know when I was pregnant with my first. And, this is a new first, but God will use it all as He teaches me new, of this I am certain.

I'm in...and peace flows like a river.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

I don't know much, but this much I know: We've stepped out with a simple answer, yes, and made a choice to trust God's plans for our future (come what may). I jest, it's just life on earth. And, after all, if the goal is God's glory (not our prosperity), then He is glorified in our weaknesses even more than in our strengths. He is glorified more when we hold fast to Him when everything else fails. He is glorified when we retain joy, even amidst trials. He is with us in the storms and especially when life gets hard. So, we'll cling to Christ through whatever trials we encounter, deciding by faith that God's good/hard is alright with us because we trust Him.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

James 1:2-4

ADOPTION IS CONTAGIOUS

...and it should be. I can't contain the enthusiasm when I realize what God is doing in our community and others like ours.

Adoption is contagious!

I remember how we felt when we found a church body that was living out the gospel through adoption. We felt an instant kindredness because of what God had been doing in our hearts and sharing that with others matters. We thank God for uniting us with people to share our adoption experiences with and we pray for more to come!

God is doing something great! God's Spirit is moving hearts to do things we thought we'd never do and what makes that so special is that He gets all the glory for what He is doing through His people.

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:36

We've found ourselves on this journey now with dear friends and family linking arms into the unknown together. Children are encouraging parents to take a childlike leap of faith and parents are teaching their children that caring for others with Christ's love is just what Christians do. We dream of raising our children together and rallying for the unadopted in their birth countries. We pray to spur one another on and encourage even more hearts to link up with ours.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

There's something to be said for traveling a windy path with comradery.

com·rad·ery  (noun):  The spirit of friendship and community in a group, like the comradery of soldiers at war who keep each other upbeat despite the difficulty of their circumstances.
(example): the special comradery that exists between soldiers that have experienced the crucible of combat together

There's something to be said for normalizing adoption and orphan care as it should be....a GIVEN. God's Word commands us to defend those who can't defend themselves. God says He is a father to the fatherless, but He accomplishes this through His body...me and you. Jesus said:

"Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Matthew 25:40

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:24

May we spur one another on as we seek God's will for our lives on earth. May we realize that He is in control and we are not. May we link arms, rise up, and realize that God is looking for people to be His hands and feet. May we find joy and comradery in the body of Christ as we obediently do what the Bible says to do, even when it comes with a cost. And, by God's grace and for His glory, may orphan care and adoption become more and more contagious!

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." Proverbs 31:8

"Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed." Psalm 82:3

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing...Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
James 1:22-25, 27

"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them." Matthew 7:12

 

The Great Awakening - Leeland
One man wakes, awakens another
Second one wakes his next door brother
Three awake can rouse a town
And turn the whole place upside down
Many awake will cause such a fuss
It finally wakes up the rest of us
One man wakes with dawn in his eyes
Surely then it multiplies
Surely then it multiplies

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

THE BRACELETS

One of my favorite people in the whole world gave me 2 bracelets for my birthday this year to wear in prayer for my sons.

 

She remembered how I wore the jade bracelet for my daughter as I prayed through her time in my belly. (Her middle name is Jade.) My sentimental mommy heart dreams of how I'll give it to her one day, perhaps when she has her own first child, perhaps on the day she marries, perhaps for no reason at all.

I want to tell her how I've prayed for her from the start, how I've always loved her.

"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Matthew 21:22

I am beyond blessed to have been doing the same for my boys as they grow in my heart. Of course with them, I think about how someday they'll each ceremonially give their bracelet to their wife and my fairytale mind wanders away...what if??

 

The beads are from Uganda, helping women as we buy. My friend purchased them from 31 Bits, a ministry focused on giving internally displaced women in Northern Uganda an opportunity to counter poverty as an expression of Christ's love.

 

I'm thankful for this tangible way to connect with my sons through prayer and I'm thankful for the support of sister-friends.

"A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17

OUR SON

We are going to him. We have a son.

The dossier is in. It's been a whirlwind of a week, but God has led us every step of the way.

This has definitely been one of those back-seat-moments in life where we are certain that He has been in the driver's seat and we definitely are not. Twists, turns, ups, downs, He is in control.

We took in the few details we were given...

"He's a fighter," she said.

And we prayed for the boy...a stranger at the time, but now with a name so personal, so sought after, so loved already.

And we made a choice...

"He's been a fighter...now let's fight for him," he says.

And I agree.

For now, the details and photo will have to wait, though they are etched permanently on my heart. His sweet eyes tell a story.
I long to know what they say. My mother's heart prays for his broken heart, yet I know he's in Good Hands.

His good God has never left him and I can't wait to tell him that He never will! I can't wait to tell him that he belongs. He belongs with us. He belongs to God. He belongs. These, the simple words the Lord keeps whispering in my ear for my son.

"For he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"

Hebrews 13:5

Nothing this week happened as we expected, but that's what we expected.
We are prayerful, trusting, holding loosely to the reigns as we follow the Lord on this journey to our son.

Would you join us in prayer for him?

Knowing there is another little soul somewhere out there has my heart in a knot, but I know that I don't need to find him either.

God will bring him to us just as He brought his brother.

Would you pray for him as well?

How wonderful to trust in the One who controls it all. How free to exhale (as I often do) and release it all to God.
He loves us. He loves you. He IS love and I praise Him for all that He is and I'm not.

May God be glorified in and through this journey. May He be known as great because of what He has done and what He is doing and what He will do. May His story be told through the lives of our sons as we come to know what those little eyes have to say.

Thank you, Lord, for linking us into what you are doing.

Thank you for grafting us into your family.

And thank you for leading us to our son.

"You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you."

Deuteronomy 3:22