March 19, 2013 was the first written prayer request I have
in my prayer journal regarding adoption.
In this letter I bring my excitement, as well as my fears about the potential
of adoption to the Lord. In this
prayer request, I ask him for guidance, wisdom, courage and strength as we were
preparing to venture into a world completely foreign to us. We knew that our lives were about to do
a complete 360 and we were going to need God’s love, mercy, strength and grace
more than ever in the upcoming months to face the trials that were ahead. Looking back now, it is really amazing to think how much our
lives have changed over the course of the past nine months since we began this
exciting journey. We have met so
many new and exciting people. When
we first began this process, international adoption was an unfamiliar territory
to us. But once we began to really
get involved and move forward with preparing our dossier, we realized there are
so many other families in the United States who are walking the same path we
are walking who were more than willing to lend a helping hand or ear whenever
needed. But even more amazing then
the people we have met or spoken to online or over the phone, is how much our
faith has grown over the course of 2013.
We have struggled along the way and at times we have fallen but our
Heavenly Father has always been there to pick us back up. He is our rock, our strength and our
shield.
“the Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my
shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior.”
2 Samuel 22:2-3
Today was one of those days and I praise the Lord for
perfect timing and a great sermon.
Today we had a guest speaker at church who did a wonderful job talking about
the story of David and Goliath. In
this story, God hand selected an individual who was viewed as a “no body” by
society and uses him to achieve great things. Basically the story of David and Goliath is a perfect
example of how God uses the weak to be the strong; that if we have faith in the
Lord and his will for us we can overcome anything.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
However, just because we are called to do something by God doesn’t
mean that life will always be smooth sailing. Just like with David, sometimes we have to lean solely on
faith and run full speed ahead into the battlefield when we are not 110% sure
of the outcome. Sometimes
following a calling means stepping out into the unknown and believing that no
matter what the outcome, GOD KNOWS BEST.
As many of you may not know there is a lot of debate going
on in Ethiopia about international adoption. Currently there are rumors floating around that they will be
closing their doors as far as international adoption is concerned. Right now these are just rumors – and
until we hear word from our agency that Ethiopia is officially closed we will
continue to move forward with our adoption process as planned. I would be lying if I said that the
thought of this happening didn’t bring me to tears. We know we have a little girl half way around the world
waiting for us to bring her home.
It hurts to think that it is possible that God’s plan for us has
changed. We do not have any intentions
to make any changes in our adoption path – again the information circulating is
not coming from a positively reliable source. However, reliable or not, we are still asking for your
prayers as time goes on….prayers that this information is false and Ethiopia
has no intention of closing its doors….prayers that if it is in fact God’s will
to close adoption in Ethiopia that he will guide us to what we are suppose to
do next….prayers for patience as we wait for our agency to respond with a
detailed explanation of what is going on….and prayers of peace. We know that God knows what is best for
our family and he HAS A PLAN.
As always, we are very appreciative of your prayers and
support. If we hear any updates
from our agency on the status of international adoption, we will pass that
along. God Bless.
