One of our adoption loans fell through yesterday.
It was a tough day. But there have been other tough days...
The day we told friends and family about our plan, the emotional support was overwhelming. However, many asked,
"How do you KNOW that this is God's calling?"
It got to me.
I woke my oldest daughter from her nap and drove her to the dollar theater to see Pooh Bear, something I would never normally do.
It was raining.
Hurricane Irene was passing over our heads.
It started raining really hard on the drive over, and I just cried while I drove.
I was really, really scared.
What if we were wrong?
What if we were outside of "The Plan"?
I begged God for a sign, or at least some comfort.
Soaked from the rain and still wiping tears from my eyes, I purchased tickets at the booth. I turned to find my daughter staring face to face with a little boy.
She whispered just loud enough for me to hear, "Mommy, is this my brother?"
I quickly apologized to the little boy's Mommy, explaining the adoption.
She said It's okay...
He's from Ethiopia.
I was speechless. I went to the popcorn stand and the woman fell in line behind me again. We exchanged numbers, and she invited us to join her family for the Ethiopian New Year's dinner at a local Ethiopian restaurant in September.
That day is today.
His rainbows are everywhere in our lives right now.
We already built the boat.
Regarding the loan, I want to share with you that it will be okay. There is a better plan. We are approved for a high interest loan via a Christian Credit Union, but I think there is a bigger plan in the works right now. Our completed homestudy is set to be done this week, and at that point we may apply to several no-interest loans like Abba Fund.
I wanted to share with you once again that God Funds What He Favors.
He has already given this family everything we need to believe that. We are eligible for a $10,000 tax credit from the federal government, and an ADDITIONAL $6,000 from the state. He has already made the provisions. We just have to walk blindly towards that point.
I got a few notes asking if this was the end.
This is NOT the end.
This is the beginning.
This will teach us patience.
If this small bump knocked us off the course, we would not make it through the trials that lie ahead either. I am praying for friends right now who have a legally adopted child waiting for them in Ethiopia, and they cannot pick them up until the courts reopen from rainy season and paperwork debaucles are sorted out. This is nothing.
People have asked me, "Now that you guys have made this announcement, what if you decide to back out of this? What will you do?"
My husband and I have to laugh to ourselves. We already have children in Africa. We have not seen their faces, but this deal is already done. To walk away now would break our hearts in the same manner it would if we left one of our biological children in Africa and returned home without them. We are already parents to our unknown children. We love them and yearn for them with a nonsensical passion.
He's GOT this!
I love this post for so many reasons, one of which you will understand NEXT Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteBut...the main reason is the last paragraph.
I wrote "children", PLURAL.
At the time that this was written, we were waiting for a referral for ONE child. Just one.
At the time this was written, we had asked for ONE boy.
God had other plans, and as I look back at my posts and realize HOW MANY TIMES I wrote "children", plural, I realize tht God was truly preparing my mother-heart for what was in my immediate future.
He is so good. And He has such a sense of humor.
(it's true, this post is a few months back, but I wanted to catch ya'll up to the place that I am now, because the WHOLE story is TOO incredible too start in the middle...)