We have heard this phrase so many times in the past few years that sometimes we forget to soak in it's meaning, but we are learning through this adoption journey that when God calls, He really DOES enable! We are just in the middle of our home study, and God has already shown up in ways we didn't expect:
1) The week the Lord confirmed that we should pursue domestic minority infant adoption, we prayed, prayed, prayed, and decided for sure that we needed to follow this call. Our first step was to find a home study agency, and one agency was recommended by several friends. We contacted them right away, but they informed us it would be weeks before they could even start our process, and it would be a slower-than-normal one after that due to a heavy load of clients (I guess that's great though, right?). A little disappointed in having to wait right at the beginning (even though we know adoption is full of "hurry up and wait"), we prepared to wait until they could work with us. However, we received a Facebook message from our IWU saxophone professor Chris Lessly mentioning a different agency she highly recommended, The Miriam Project out of Anderson, IN, whom she had completed two home studies through. We just had to smile at how God perfectly weaves believers' paths together often with His own agenda in mind. We had no idea that our time spent in wind ensemble and private lessons would some day impact our road to adoption, but God was working perfectly in those details. The Miriam Project replied quickly, saying they could begin our home study on Monday and have it completed in 7-8 weeks. While we aren't in a huge hurry, we also didn't want to drag our feet any more than needed. Working with The Miriam Project has been a joy, and we are blessed to be working with them.
2) We have been following the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps for several years now and are debt free other than our mortgage, have our emergency fund in place, and have started saving for retirement. With the call to adopt, however, suddenly we are faced with a financial burden WAY larger than we can find in our budget. This adoption will cost us somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000-30,000, an amount unfathomable to us as we have been enjoying the blessing of living on one income so I can stay home with Nathan. From the time we knew the Lord was calling us to adopt, we also knew He would have to meet our financial need out of His resources, as our resources were simply not going to make up difference. While we have yet to launch any fundraisers or seek any gifts from family or friends, God has provided ALL OF THIS in the past month: three out-of-the blue freelance jobs, a computer building order, a $20 home study physical, unexpected donations from friends, and a car repair that cost half of what we expected. Oh yes, and the most mysterious one--somehow I have $100 left in my grocery budget for the month. While we have a long way to go before we reach the large goal in front of us, God is already showing us His great faithfulness when we simply say "YES!" to His call.
We thank each of you who are praying with us in this journey! If you would like to participate financially in bringing our next little guy/girl home, there is a donation link on the right of our blog, and we'd be thrilled if the Lord chooses to use you in this manner. We will also be posting other ways you can be involved soon, so stay tuned to see how you can make a difference in the life of a child!
No comments :
Post a Comment