PART II: The Narrow Road to Victory
We are so incredibly blessed to be on this journey that God has set before us. We want to continue to catch you up on the narrow road to Victory...DAY 92: As we continue to attempt to figure out what in the world we need to do to adopt our daughter from 12,000 miles away-- doubt, confusion, and fear creeps in. Even a little discontentment. We are trying to save all of our money knowing full well of the tens of thousands of dollars in expenses ahead of us. That translates to saying no to a lot of things. No to a trip to Oregon to see our family & friends. No to a long ago promised trip to Disneyland with the kids. No to a new car as mine overheats everyday. In the meantime, what a convoluted process international adoption is! Why so much red tape? It is interesting as we committed to V, almost to the day, the adoption laws changed in her country making it more difficult to bring her home. No one really knows exactly what the laws mean and most adoption agencies stopped working in this country because of this. Would we need to do this on our own? Is this even possible? What are we even doing? As my mind raced with questioning questions, I read Romans 15:13 which says:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy & peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
I also felt the Lord clearly saying to me this quiet morning before the sun rose-
Rest in me. I will provide ALL that you need. I know the desires of your heart &
will fulfill them according to My will. Trust me. Completely.
DAY 104: The nun who runs the orphanage is doing her best to care for V and all the babies with very limited resources. Communication over there is very difficult, email seems best- but even then we are sometime more confused after reading it then before. We continue to be told to "wait" as she tries to get a hold of this same probation officer that holds all the cards. No progress still and we have been back for 3 months. Doubt sneaks in again- "are we sure we heard the Lord on this?" In the meantime we are trying to purchase a house to provide more space for our family of seven, but nothing is falling into place and our house in Bend is not selling as we pour money into it. "Really Lord? Is this your plan?"
Then our pastor spoke on Romans 12 about "ALL-IN LIVING". A discipline that focuses not on what you want NOW, but on what you want MOST. For us, what we want now and most is one in the same, but we have such a hard time waiting, especially when there is no visible progress.
All-in living requires me to:
- Believe what I don't see
- Receive what I don't deserve
- Obey what I don't understand
- Stay faithful when I don't feel like it
This process and mindset takes sacrifice. Without sacrifice and uncertainty there is no need for faith. I am ALL-IN Lord and we will continue to move forward one little step at a time, even though we have a lot more questions than answers.
Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward.
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God,
you may receive what is promised.
Hebrews 10:35-36
DAY 118: Prayer today for clarity & wisdom with the next steps as we attempt to sell & buy a house at the same time. We are discouraged with the cost of housing here and question if we will ever find a place of our own here where there is room to roam for FIVE kids (yes, that's right, she's is already counted with us!). Lallie is ready to move to Africa like yesterday...
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, & faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12
DAY 129: We found our new home in Kona and our offer was accepted! God's goodness and faithfulness never fails. We will now have room for all of these crazy kids and a pool to work water therapy with V. We are so incredibly blessed and in awe of His provision in our family. In my quiet time the Lord reminded me of words spoke over me when I was a teenager that didn't make sense at the time:
You will have a house with many rooms which will serve great purpose in My Kingdom.
Orphans, widows, homeless, & hurting -- this will be a place of restoration for the heart, soul & body. And I will be glorified through it.
DAY 138: We accepted an offer on our house in Oregon and will close soon! It just so happens that the buyer is an adoptive parent herself multiple times over and really was touched by our story! Coincidence? I think not. She made the process very straight forward and accepted our counter offer quickly. This is another piece of the puzzle put into place to bring V home. God's timing is always perfect, why do we ever think otherwise? Why am I so impatient?
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness.
Lam 3:22-23
DAY 144: I love my kids abundantly and unconditionally, all FIVE of them. Even in the mornings where I wake up and feel like I am in the middle of a lock down insane asylum, with Logan chugging milk, Clay lighting something on fire, Oliver collecting poisonous snails, & Evie screaming so loud you are convinced that your eardrums are toast--they bring me so much JOY. They help me to stay humble and keep me smiling even when I have many reasons why I shouldn't be. They challenge me to truly have a child-like faith which is quite similar to an audacious faith I am trying to adopt in all areas of my life. My quiver is filling up but there is still an empty spot reserved for V...
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Psalms 127:3-5
TO BE CONTINUED...
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