My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.
The holidays were rough and the wait just keeps getting harder. I found myself getting cynical and very weary in the waiting, "...until I entered the house of the Lord..." Some friends asked how everything was going with the adoption and the dam broke. We were told to expect our referral in September and every month it turns into "next month". January has been no exception, and I am just so tired of waiting. The words echoed in my mind as we began to pray together and I realized something. Somewhere along the line I started waiting on people and papers. No wonder I was exhausted! "Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength! They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." I repented and shifted the weight of my waiting back towards the Lord. I am so grateful for the finished work of the cross. We can come to him with any burden, sin, or struggle...anything that hinders love and freedom in our lives, and he lifts it from us, washes us clean, and renews our mind with his truth that sets us free.
So I am choosing to wait on the Lord, and put my hope in Him. It's nice :) I will not stop praying and fighting for my children to come home, but I will do it in the strength that comes from Him, and I will be thankful! Instead of complaining about what is not yet here, I am choosing to be hopeful for it and thankful for what God has done.
Here is a little recap of what HAS happened in the last couple of months:
We finished the girl's bedroom!
Brent laid new flooring in their room, Grace helped me paint the walls, and Elijah
helped sand and paint furniture. I was able to get all their bedding,
pillows and rug with a loving generous gift from friends.
There is a sweet, fabulous group of women that I had the privilege of sitting around a table with
for a women's bible study almost two years ago. They have been kind, faithful friends and have shown so much support towards our journey. They had been cooking up an idea for an adoption fundraising Holiday Boutique for a long time and it came to fruition this Christmas. They raised funds for three adopting families. It was a beautiful and successful event! I am so grateful for such love.
We received a call from our agency early one morning to let us know what
we needed to do to move forward with the adoption of the twins older
brother. We needed more papers State Certified, so I grabbed my posse
and we headed up to Sacramento that morning. Remember that one time it
rained all day long? It was that day. We made it safely there, got all
our papers taken care of, and of course I just had to take every one to Estelle's
Patiserie. We celebrated with lovely cakes, macarons, and giant
chocolate filled croissants. Then walked back to the van while it poured rain on us.
We finally decided on keeping all four boys together in the boy's existing bedroom. I was amazed at how it all came together and how much room they have. Solomon and I took a road trip to IKEA to bring home bunk beds and bedding for their room. We had a great time on the road, got a chance to pray with strangers, ate swedish meatballs, raced around on shopping carts and came home with what we needed. Success!
He built both beds the next day!
I must not forget to tell you, while painting the boys room I received a phone call from one of the adoption grant agencies that we had applied to. I was completely stunned when she announced to me that we had received a unbelievable $15,000.00 grant from their organization!!!! I am so far beyond thankful. This is almost exactly what we needed for our son! It is these moments that I can see why Jesus says, "Don't worry about ANYTHING, but pray about everything." There is no number too big and no need to great for Him, and I am thankful.
