My parents and my little sister came up to spend several days with us. It is hard to put in to words how wonderful the week was. I had a BLAST with my silly little sister.
In case you missed out on this last year, my parents adopted Janya exactly one year ago today (Nov 28), on Thanksgiving, 2013. Yes, my parents are in their 50's; yes, they have two grown children; yes, they are at the point in their lives where people are usually counting the days to retirement. But when God wants you to do something, you do it! My dad describes it as a journey God sent them on, piece by piece. We stayed up late on Monday night (like after midnight, which if you know my daddy is shocking!) talking about life and family and adoption. It really struck me as I listened again to all the events that led up to their decision to adopt how intimately God is involved in every single aspect of our lives; how he can weave the good and the bad into a beautiful picture of his glory and grace. Standing on this side of the adoption and looking back, Dad even said he was glad that he didn't always know God's whole plan.
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| Outside the Orphanage, Gotcha Day 2013 |
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| One Year Later, Gotcha Day 2014 |
Tuesday we kicked off the day with haircuts for Matthew and Kyle and a trip to the Popcorn Bag (duh). As we were leaving to head back home, my dear friend commented on how good it was to see an answered prayer in the flesh (meanwhile Janya was bounding out the door and skipping to the car, haha). And she was so right!
I realized that I have been sitting here for the last several months thinking how hard adoption is and how I'm pretty sure some people think we are crazy and how sometimes I FEEL crazy, but how I know this is where God is leading us. It is so easy to feel sorry for ourselves and feel like God isn't answering our prayers anymore.
But that is such a narrow view of the world. My parents certainly had people look at them like they were crazy. They had MANY many setbacks. There were times where they wondered if they were wrong. But as daddy told us on Monday night, when he doubted, Momma was still driven and committed. They balanced each other out...and all along the way they felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to continue to pursue the adoption of a little girl. And because they were obedient, I get to spend holidays with this girl:
God IS answering prayers. We have to be willing to wait on His timing for our little miracle to arrive. But I know that adoption is close to the Father's heart, and I trust and believe that he will see this adoption through to completion. I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know we will someday see the end.
As we went around the table Thanksgiving Day and said what we were thankful for, it was certainly heartwarming to hear Janya say she was thankful for her family.
But what really stuck with me was one thing my dad said. He said he was thankful that God has incredible plans for us that we can't even imagine. What are you thankful for today, this day AFTER Thanksgiving? I am thankful for parents who follow God wherever he leads, even if it appears crazy to the world and even most Christians. I'm thankful for a sister who fills our family with laughter and pictures like this:
PS: Stay Tuned in the next few weeks for fundraiser totals and an update on the process!
