HAPPY TWO YEAR ADOPTION DAY!

It is hard to believe it has been two years since Betty and Jeri came home to us. I know I haven't posted at all this year but now that the girls are an inherent part of our family, life has pretty much just gone on as usual. Lately though as we have approached our 2 year anniversary, I have been reflecting on our adoption journey, the scriptures that spoke to me during that journey and God's character throughout:

Our faith is in the almighty God and not ourselves, our resources or our circumstances.

God Calls:

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

When God calls, He often plants seeds in our heart long before it is time for us to obey. Gradually the seeds grow as He prepares us to accept His will and purpose for our lives. Our call to adopt began when we moved into our current home in 2007. It was then that He first planted the seed of adoption in my heart and I began to pray about it and visit local adoption events. He also placed many acquaintances and friends in our path who had adopted and were willing to discuss their own journeys. Next, He sent me to a women's conference where the topic was “Women of faith “ and “Women who say yes to God.” He gave me the desire to surrender my will to His so that my life might glorify Him. Over the next few years, He brought 2 foreign exchange students, 2 girls from an African choir and an intern to temporarily live in our home. Looking back, I see His hand in preparing us to open our lives to a more permanent addition to our family.

God Confirms:

Matthew 19:5 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become on flesh.”

If God calls you to adoption and you are married, He will also call your spouse. Because adoption would involve both David and I, I continuously prayed for the next four years that God would confirm His call by bringing David alongside too. I didn't nag or conjure my spouse; I simply prayed. God confirmed our call to adopt when in 2011, God spoke adoption into David's heart and he responded willingly. We were now united through faith to take the journey together.

God is Sovereign

Psalm 138:8, “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your steadfast love, O lord, endures forever...”

Even though in the past, God had placed missions that reach vulnerable African children on our heart, we let the greater expense for an Ethiopian adoption sway our decision to begin the adoption process in China where only one and not two trips to the country were required. But when God has a plan, He is in control and His purposes will stand and be made known. He shut the door to a China adoption in spite of our own efforts to try and keep the door open. Both David and I had previous occurrences of skin cancer and no type of cancer was permitted for a China adoption. Finally, we realized it was He who was shutting the door in order to direct us to the right path. Fortunately, He had previously guided us to an agency that had a new Ethiopian adoption program in addition to their China adoption program and we were able to proceed without changing agencies.

Isaiah 64:4 “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God beside you, who acts on behalf of those who wait on Him.”

Do you ever have trouble waiting on God's timing? I know I do. But God does not want us to doubt His goodness. He wants us to trust in Him, wait on His timing, walk in surrender and not try to make things happen independently of Him during times of trial and delay. There is much waiting in the adoption process. Governments change their process, close doors to their country, process less kids through court, or other problems arise. We had our own challenges of waiting due to health problems. We also had friends whose adoptions fell through when their matched child was claimed again by some family member or friends whose court or embassy appointments were delayed for long periods of time for various reasons. But through it all, God is in control. His timing is always perfect and looking back on all these events for both us and our friends, His purpose and hand can be seen in the delays and disappointments. It has been said before, “God promised it, He will do it, that settles it.”

Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me.”

God grows our faith and dispels our doubts

John 13:7 “Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

During the dossier phase of our adoption, I was diagnosed with breast cancer (Praise God for His providence of redirecting us from China to Ethiopia!) The diagnosis shook my confidence in God's call. Even though I knew nothing could stand in the way of God's plans for us, I was confused and plagued with doubts. Had I heard right?

John the Baptist also had his confidence shaken when his expectations did not match God's plan. John, who knew Jesus was the promised Messiah, had doubts when he found himself in prison for doing God's will. Furthermore, He thought the promised Messiah was to take the throne of David and deliver the Israelites from Roman oppression and rule. He could not see the big picture of God's plan. Yet John took his uncertainties to the true source and sent his disciples to Jesus to confirm that Jesus was in fact the long awaited Messiah.

So I also took my uncertainties to the Lord in prayer and began pouring over my prayer journals of the past few years for answers. That same day, God dispelled all my doubt by encouraging a friend to send me a poem entitled “A Bend in the Road” by Helen Steiner Rice.” After reading the poem, peace and joy settled over me: I new without a doubt that cancer was not the end of the road, God had a bigger vision, my cancer was only a bend in the road and the best was yet to come. I also received a call that day regarding our dossier was complete and ready to submit. God is so much bigger than our circumstances. When we listen, He will provide truth, life, direction and comfort.

2 Corinthians 5:7 “We live by faith, not by sight.”

Exodus 6:1 “Now you will see what I will do...”

God provides

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think...”

When I first started to think about adoption, I looked into domestic adoption. My own financial insecurities came over me and I determined we could not afford an international adoption. (Matthew 8:26 “You of little faith, why are you afraid?”) Fortunately, He confirmed through David that international adoption was indeed His call for us; so we stepped out in faith. Do you believe God still does miracles? I do because we witnessed one firsthand. Not only did God miraculously provide all we needed for the 35K adoption of two girls but He also provided enough for our boys to travel with us on the first trip. We were overwhelmed by His provision.

2 Corinthians 12:9 “But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

During the adoption process I also had fears of my ability to parent and homeschool two more children. After all, I was advancing in age. But when God calls, He equips. He has given me just what I need each day to take the next step of faith. He has given me encouragement to obey. He has given me the power to do what He has called me to do. To draw near to God through faith in Jesus is to enter into God's high and joyful purpose for my life.

God reveals

2 Samuel 22:29, “You are my lamp, O Lord, the Lord turns my darkness into light.”

This is one of my favorite parts of our journey. Our original intent was to adopt one little girl, around the age of 4 or 5. But God, gave David a dream that not only would we be adopting an older girl but two instead of just one. Then a few weeks later at an adoption class, we met someone adopting a 7 year old girl that had been on their agency's waiting child list. I told them I had looked at our agency's list in the past but it had always been just boys. However, God placed this person in our path at just the right time so that we would take another look at the website. When we got home that day, we clicked on waiting kids and up popped our beautiful daughters, ages 6 and 8. The Lord revealed to our hearts at that very moment, these were the girls for us. This was such a blessing and comfort to me as my surgery was 3 days later. We couldn't be matched with the girls until I had a medical clearance from the doctor but God kept anyone else from being matched with them for the one and a half months more that we had to wait for medical clearance. And do you think it a coincidence that the meaning of our girls last name was “My Hope?” Certainly, He is worthy to be praised!

God teaches

Habakuk 3:19 “The sovereign Lord is my strength, He makes my feet like the feet of deer, He enables me to go on the heights.”

Why did God allow such a rough road when we were being obedient to His call? My friend gave me a helpful book during this time called “Hinds Feet in High Places.” The book is about the journey each of us must make before we can live in high places. In our journey, we had to travel through the desert to grow in faith and dependence on God before we were ready to reach the heights of getting our new daughters. During this time of waiting, God showed me that each day was important to what He had to show me and teach me. God taught me to accept with joy all that He allowed into my life and lay my own will on His altar.

A quote from Joni Eareckson Tada' whispered hope into my heart during our time in the desert and summarizes well what we learned along our journey. “If you are operating in God's general will – that is, if you are living in the power of the Spirit and obeying by faith the commands of God already made clear in scripture, you can confidently move forward to pursue your deepest desires, for it is God who put them in your heart. And once you are rolling, God can grab the steering wheel with the strong arms of His will to direct you to exactly where He wants you to go. Finding the Lord's specific will for you may mean pushing down the narrow line until you hit a dead end; but at that point, God will open a door so wide that you won't be able to see around it, only go through it.”

Revelation 3:8 “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied My name.”