Answered Prayer!

It was exactly three weeks ago today that I got a phone call from Kirk (adoption agency director) asking for another $5,000 by the end of this month. At that time, we had just under $1,000 in the adoption fund and no idea how God was going to provide the rest, but we trusted Him completely to make it happen! And make it happen He did...in ways that are greater than anything we could have imagined!

Little by little, we've seen our adoption fund grow - with T-shirt sales, a spaghetti dinner/silent auction, the Money Tree Baby Shower, our yard sale, people handing us money to help, and David's bonus coming in (which put us just over the top of what we needed for our payment this month)...but little did we know what an amazing gift God still had in store for us!

Last night, I went to my Holding on to HOPE meeting. This is a meeting for women who have/are experiencing infertility, miscarriage, and/or child loss. This group was started in our church about three years ago, with just a handful of members. Over the years, we've seen people come and go...and watched many fulfill their HOPE of having a child (whether it be their first child, or additional children)...and seeing God's hand in each and every one! It's been amazing!

I thought last night's meeting was going to be like any other meeting...but boy, was I wrong! The leader of our group, Sue, was busting at the seams to share some good news with us! She had called the day before to ask if I was coming & said she had a question she needed to ask, but wanted to ask me in person. It was just her way of making sure I'd be there so she could see my reaction when she told me the news! :)

Apparently, Sue knows a couple who have helped other couples with adopting their first child. Usually, this couple only helps childless couples adopt, but they were touched by our story and felt led to help us! This couple (who will remain anonymous to us) is sending payment to Family Creations on our behalf in the amount of $15,000!!!! WOW WE WOW WOW!!! PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!!!!

I can not even begin to tell you what an amazing blessing that is for us and what a huge weight it has lifted off our shoulders! When we started this whole adventure, we were looking at a HUGE mountain called adoption costs! God moved that mountain in amazing ways!!!! He still does miracles!!!

This means that in order to complete this adoption (financially, speaking), we only need another $5,000 and we are done! Compared to the $32,750 MOUNTAIN we were looking at in October when we first got the phone call about this baby, that's a mere stone! If God can provide $27,750 (which He has to date), then He is certainly able to provide another $5,000!!! Do we know where that $5,000 is coming from? Not completely...but we trust the One Who has provided so much for us already to provide that, too!!!

When I called David from my HOPE meeting, he was crying and thanking God! Not only has God provided for our adoption, but He has also grown our faith by leaps and bounds as we've watched His hand move this mountain and use His people to do so! I am just completely amazed! I mean...you hear of this kind of thing happening to other people, but you never expect it to happen for you! Isn't it just amazing what God can do? I am just in awe!!!

When I look back and think about how God has worked all of this out...there's no mistake that this was 100% God...and He will get ALL the glory for this child that He is bringing to our family! This morning, I was thinking about those events and how they unfolded. Let me share a bit with you...

Right before we got the phone call from the agency, Christopher and I had a deep conversation in the car about God and how He answers prayer. It started with a song on the radio, but I can't remember which one. We talked about how I wanted to marry a man with brown eyes so my child would have brown eyes, but God said, "No, I've got something better" and He gave me David (who has blue eyes, by the way). Then, I told Christopher how I prayed for God to give me a baby in my tummy & God said, "No, I've got something better" and He gave me Christopher! To this, Christopher replied, "Do I have brown eyes?" Smart boy...and yes, he does! When I told him that, he said, "Cool!" We talked more about how God sometimes answers yes, sometimes no, and sometimes wait! It was a great conversation...but I had no idea that God was already at work on answering Christopher's prayer for siblings and our prayer for more children...and in a way we never even imagined!

After we'd gotten the call and things had settled down a bit, we got the first phone call from Kirk asking for some sort of payment. We had about $350 in the adoption fund at that point...not nearly enough. I called David and was in tears. Christopher saw my tears and asked why I was crying. I told him that I was worried that we might not be able to have enough money to bring the baby home. The look on his face totally broke my heart...and I'm pretty sure God spoke through me when I told Christopher that God is bigger than this and if He wants this baby to come home with us, He will make a way. I'm pretty confident that was as much for me as it was for Christopher! And with his child-like faith, Christopher's smile returned to his face and he went away confident that God was going to work it all out!

I, on the other hand, needed a little more convincing. When David got home from work that night, we talked about the adoption and wondered if it was really going to happen. At that point, the only one on the planet who knew I was doubting this adoption happening was David. But, God prompted a dear friend to call me out of the blue and tell me that this adoption was going to happen! Talk about a message from God! Only He could have made that happen at that exact moment!

And now, with this anonymous couple and so many people who have helped us (whether they knew us or not)...not to mention the countless friends, family, and strangers who have been praying continuously for us...I just can't help but know this baby is being brought to us by God's hand! God is AWESOME and He is STILL in the miracle business!!! We're watching one unfold right before our eyes!!! :)

PRAISE GOD!!!!!