Not a Public Speaker...

This Sunday is Orphan Sunday. Churches across the nation will be bringing light to the plight of the 147 million orphans world wide.

I am happy to say that our small church will also be touching on the subject. I am not pleased to say that our pastor has asked Tom and I to speak a little bit on our experience, why we decided to adopt and how adoption fits in with God's Will.

I want to be eloquent and moving. I want to stir a passion in people to get up and do something about these children. I have no idea how to do it and little confidence in myself. Especially since I have never been eloquent and moving.

I do not want this to be about Tom and I or our family in general. I do not want one person to come up to us and tell us that it is a "great thing we are doing". Or how "lucky Meghan is ". What I do want is for people to search their hearts and see what God is calling them to do.

I have learned so much on this adoption journey. I will freely admit that when we began, we felt called by God to open our home to another child. It has grown so much bigger in the year and a half since we began.

In the begining we were focused on bringing a child into our home. Finding a child that would fit into our family. Choosing the right age and gender. Hoping that an adoption did not disrupt an already good thing. Trusting that this was God's will for our family. Our faith in God's will was small.

But over these many months, I have learned so much about God's will. So many times people say, "I just want to know what God's will is." Really? People pray about whether or not they should take a new job, put their kids in a certain school, move, etc. I honestly think that God really doesn't care what job you have, what school your kids go to, or where you live as long as whatever you do you do for His glory. God needs Christian plumbers, doctors and taxi cab drivers as much as he needs missionarys. He needs Christian children in public school as much as (Maybe more than) in Christian Schools. And he needs Christians in all neightborhoods across the nations.

A lot of time when people pray these prayers asking for guidance on which job, school, or location God seems silent. Maybe he is just saying, whatever you do, do for me.

But God is NOT silent on some things. God is specific on what his will is toward adoption.

James 1:26-27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

On this issue God is not silent. God created adoption, he has adopted us into His family. He is the defender of the fatherless and He sets the lonely in families.

When somone steps out in faith to follow God's will God will make it happen. He answers our prayers boldly and quickly. When we started our adoption journey we had no plan. We stumbled into Taiwan adoption. Looking back I wonder how everything worked out as it did. We shouldn't have gotten Meghan. Another family had her, ( I found this out way later, not until we had our court date). I really don't know how often Nightlight had waiting children. By all intents and purposes, we should still be waiting. Not to mention the fact that we already have 4 children and most agencies wouldn't even accept us into their programs.

And money. We definitely did not have the money just laying around to pay for this adoption. We had lost most of our equity so couldn't tap into that. We did have 401k, but had already taken a bunch of that out to pay down debt. So, we needed grants and loans. No, no grants or loans would be available to us. But somehow the money came. A little bonus here (I mean little, like 3,000). Enough to pay homestudy fee and application fee. Little things would trickle in. I even got a letter from one of those services that helps you find unclaimed property. If I paid them 10% they would help me find my unclaimed property. (I am a capable person and was not going to pay anyone 10% so I found it myself). I had $2,200 from 1997! Can you believe it? (EVERYBODY should check unclaimed property from EVERY state they have EVER lived in- google it - it will lead you to state treasurer's/controller's website). I applied for it and it took 6 months but believe it or not I got the check right when we got our travel dates. And then the big act of God that came in August. After writing "God will provide" on numerous adoption loan applications in one day, my husband called and said that he had just gotten word that we had the money. See my old post on "Rejoice" in August.

God took care of the details. We didn't need to worry. We shoudn't have worried. We had worried, but I am not worrying one more minute about this adoption or the travel or post adoption transitions. This is God's will. He has made it Abundantly Clear.

When God asks you to step out in faith and follow his will. DO IT! I can't tell you how blessed I have been by this adventure. I can't wait for all the blessings to come as we continue to walk in faith down this road.