Recently I was told of a woman’s response to our adopting from Ethiopia.  “Why?” she stated “Why do they need to adopt a little black baby?”  The answer that was given this woman (by a friend of mine) was “My friends don’t see color and neither do their children.  Where is this baby better off?  In an orphanage or loved and cherished in a family?”

 

This is a hard issue for some to swallow.  In a book I recently read someone stated “Your bringing a little African American child into your lilly white world?”.  Thomas and I are not naïve and know there may some issues that come up, but we know this child is the child that may as well have come from my womb because this little boy or girl will be unconditionally loved by us and know God’s unconditional love.  This is our child.  There are four million orphans in Ethiopia and last year there were only 441 Adoptions of Ethiopian Children by United States citizens.  Tell me the chances for our precious little child? 

 

You also might notice we said “ boy or girl”…well, we have decided to let God decide on the gender of our child.  A wonderful woman in our agency asked us to pray about it and pray about it we did.  She challenged us and for that we will always be thankful.

 

It reminded me in a very tiny way of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son.  We have given God everything in this adoption, but we held one thing back.  We had a preconceived notion of adopting a girl.  It was actually hard to let go of at first. Now? Not so much.  We can picture a girl or a boy now.  It happened over night.

 

Thomas and I weren’t sure what God wanted.  We really had thought a girl, but I think that was what we always assumed we would adopt if we ever did adopt again.  After praying together we went on with every day life.  On the way to take Sarah to her friend’s party we started talking about what God did want from us.  We came to a conclusion that our child’s gender we needed to give to God.  When your pregnant do you get a choice?  Our child may be a Becca or a Noah….only God knows and with either we will be tremendously blessed.

 

We want to say a thank you to all of those who have been praying.  God answered yet again.  Why does our heart always give a little flutter and feel surprised at all?  It shouldn’t by now.   It’s a little thing in the big picture, but it gives us peace to know God is in such control.   Dawn sent our Immigration paperwork and Home Study out (we believe) this last Friday (10/13/06) and on Tuesday (10/17/06) and we have received an invitation to go get fingerprinted.  We were told to expect the invitation for fingerprinting in 2 to 4 weeks.  Who else but GOD ?!!!!

 

Please continue to pray:

*That God is with our child and their biological family in the trials they are about to face

    and that He gives them a peace that only He can give.
*That God continues to bless this adoption and He has His hand on every aspect and
  pore.
*Specifically- That He continues to speed our paperwork and fingerprints through Immigration and that our child is held in our arms soon (as only He knows is best).

   We all have friends or family that seem somehow connected to us.   They get a virus that they (and you) have never had before and even though you live states away, you get the same virus three days later. 

    My Spiritual Sister Michelle moved next to us while we were in the military.  When we visited each other’s houses for the first time, it was scary.  We both had the same bathroom decorations, pillows on our couches, and gliders.  After moving to different states we both bought the exact same couch (not knowing what the others looked like).  Sometimes God gives you this amazing connection with people.

       Have you ever not known how you were going to make ends meet and a check (within dollars of what you need) shows up in the mail?  Some obscure check that you didn’t even know you were going to get? 

     God is so ever present in our lives, we forget how He daily touches us.

     There are so many things that happen in life that others may say are just coincidence, but I struggle with that definition. 

       Late within this last school year we were doing an Outreach (for our children's school) to raise money to help the lost little ones of this world, the orphans.  While getting a handout ready I “Googled” the number of orphans in a few different countries.  While searching under Russia, Ethiopia came up as a response.  Though unusual I was pleased to find another number for the flier.  That was until I saw the number of orphans 4,000,000.  That is almost 7% of the entire population.   I understand now (thanks to my mom) what it means “blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted”.  I felt ill, physically and spiritually.  I mourned for those little ones.

   A short time later (probably within a week) I got a bulk email from our Adoption Agency, Hope International.  They had moved and wanted to spread the word.  Since they were so great I wanted to see how they were doing (for the first time in a very long time).  Clicking on their website I noticed they had a new country, Ethiopia.  I was so excited for them.  They were doing something to make a difference there.  That’s all I thought, that’s as far as it went.  Ethiopia kissed my heart then floated away.

    I was driving home from school not long after and was noticing all the development in our area.  Shops were coming up everywhere!  Guess what opened up just down our street? An Ethiopian Grocery!  How weird is that?!  This made me just give a little hmmmmmmm.  I felt a beautiful little fuzzy Ethiopian hug wrap around my heart.

     A few days later T.C. came home and exclaimed “Hey Mom! Do you know who the first African mentioned in the Bible is?”   After a very busy day I didn’t even try to think.  I just did an automatic “Who T.C.?”  “The Ethiopian Eunuch of course!” he stated, as if he was very disappointed in me for not guessing.

     Here’s the thing, we had heard nothing of Ethiopia for a very long time.  Maybe God was trying to get our attention.  Why? Who knew, but we were getting a hint something was going on.

    As we turned on the T.V. that weekend there was a documentary on AIDS in Africa, while of course Ethiopia came up.

      Though a picture was starting to immerge.  I don’t think it was one we were ready to see yet.

      I had needed to prepare my Bible Lesson and had forgot to bring it home the previous week.  Sarah and I stomped up the stairs at Church, goofing around.  As I opened the file cabinet my mouth dropped.  Our lesson this week was on the Ethiopia Eunuch.   I got those goose bumps that often come just as the “big picture” immerges from your heart…your spirit.  Without a stutter my Sarah…God’s Sarah looked up at me and asked “Mom, I am seeing Ethiopia everywhere, is God trying to tell us something?”  Even the children were recognizing it. 

    God was telling us (we would come to realize later) that we have a little girl or boy we don’t even know…in Ethiopia.   We had other events happen as well.  It would take pages that I don’t have the time or stamina to write.  

     With four children we didn’t listen very well.  We are human and it took a while. 

      Coincidence?  There are those that choose to believe that.  There are those that choose to believe our creation was a series of random events to create intricate life here on earth.  To me that belief takes a lot of faith, a belief that has a bunch of numbers, atoms, random explosions and fish turning into humans, all of which somehow created rational thought.  Somehow, I think it takes a lot more faith to believe in that. 

     As for me I see a Hand, His Hand, ever-present….creating….guiding and comforting us.   I see checks coming in the mail, friends who seem to have come out of the same womb,  and God letting us know what He wills for our lives.

     As for me…I see God.

     So no matter what your belief, I know for a fact…no doubt, that God has His hand on each of us…all we have to do is see it.