So it has been a LONG time since I last posted. We've been busy, crazy busy. And I've been wrestling with my mind on lots of things. So here's a recap....
In the spring we got really busy for a couple of months volunteering at the local concession stand with Maggie's Hope raising money for lots of local adoptive families. It was tons of fun, we met lots of people and made so many new friends. It was exhausting at times, but I truly hope I will have this same opportunity next year to serve with my brothers and sisters in Christ, defending the fatherless.
We got this crazy idea to sell our house. SO we painted, repaired, de-cluttered and cleaned like crazy. And I guess it has paid off because our house is S-O-L-D, we are just waiting for a closing date. And we found a perfect house for our growing family!
We eliminated our car payment. We were fortunate enough to trade our two cars for only one car with NO payment. Having one car will be a bit of a struggle at times, but hey, it helped us ditch $14,000 in debt and about $400 a month :)
Through all of these great things, I let satan in. Yep, he was there lurking at the door and I let him in. I love blogs so it's no surprise that I have been reading adoption blogs to my hearts content. It's amazing hearing about how others walked this same walk and where their families are now. But in one particular week I read a number of blogs that were a bit on the negative side. And I questioned if adoption was actually a GOOD thing. Seriously people, I questioned whether adopting a starving child from an orphanage was a good thing!!! I mean on one hand the answer is obvious, but on the other hand, I was reading about child trafficking and children being placed in orphanages with loving families that simply could not afford to care for them. On the broad end of the spectrum, the answer is CHANGE and an end to the poverty. If there were no poverty, no disease, there would not be so many orphans, and there would not be as great of a need for adoption. And in no way would I ever want to be any part of child trafficking.
My struggles with adoption kept growing and I finally vented all of these crazy thoughts to a friend and our social worker. I kicked satan to the curb and I'm keeping my faith that God has called us to adoption. Yes, there is a bigger answer to the orphan epidemic, and while I can pour my heart into ending poverty it is bigger than me alone. But for ONE child, I can be the safe, loving arms that she comes home to.
So we are moving forward with the adoption process, this week we took a marriage survey :) and we are preparing to get fingerprinted. And as I type, I am having an Adoption yard sale. Everything we earn goes to the adoption fund, and we won't have to move all this stuff to our new house. It's a win-win!
I also suffered a job loss this week. But God will provide for our sweet little family. And our adoption will stay on track!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6
