Faith in God's Timing

I found the above picture in my digital file of assorted pictures I've found on the internet and liked. I'm not exactly sure where this one came from, but it was most likely Facebook...seems to be where I find most of them! :) And that makes this even more appropriate, as you will read in this blog post!

This picture/saying is so perfect for where we are right now. Today is January 16th - just a little more than a week from when I got the call from Kirk asking for another $5,000 by the middle or end of the month. Here we are, smack dab in the middle of January...do we have the $5,000? Nope...but we do see God at work and have complete faith that by the end of the month, it will be here!

Let me just fill you in on some of the goings on over the last week...and you'll see what I mean! :) When I wrote my last blog, I had NO IDEA how our $1,000 in the bank could quintuple in just a few short weeks...and to be quite honest, I was starting to feel a little (ok, more than just a little) worried. This baby is already so much a part of our family that if we were to lose the possibility of adopting him/her, it would be like a death to us...the loss would be felt that greatly. But you know what? God is bigger! He knows the plans He has for us...and those plans are NOT to harm us, but to prosper us...to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). I firmly believe that hope and future includes Christopher's sibling joining our family!

So...I get a call from my friend Sherry Kendrick just a couple days after the phone call from Kirk. She said she's been thinking & praying about our adoption and she had an out-of-the-box-thinking idea and wanted to run it by me before she just did it! :) She said, "Kara, do you realize you 750 Facebook friends?" While I didn't know the exact number of friends, I was not completely surprised...after all, between attending 2 high schools, my Avon business, church friends from several different churches I've attended over the years, teacher friends, and students I've worked with in various church ministries...not to mention close friends and family, it can really add up! Well...her idea was to do something on Facebook and ask all my Facebook friends to contribute $10, $20, or $25 in January and February. She had done the math and figured out that if everyone sent just $10 each of those months, that would be $15,000 in the two months...which would get us to where we need to be for now (the last chunk isn't due until the baby is born). Obviously, not everyone can/will participate and some will do more, as they are able. I talked it over with David and he agreed it would be a good idea. Sherry worked with our mutual friend Tonya Haskins and together, they created the Jansen Family Money Tree Baby Shower (you can click on the name/link and it will take you to the event on Facebook)! The only thing David worried about was putting our home address on Facebook, so we rented a mailbox for 6 months so if people wanted to mail their contributions to us, an address could be posted. The event was created on Wednesday, January 11th...and by Saturday, January 14th, we had $295 in hand! Can I just pause a minute and say WOW!!! And I can't even think of this without giving glory to God!

Now, you may be thinking...but $295 is no where near what you need. And you'd be right. So why am I praising God and giving Him glory? Because we are now $295 closer to where we need to be...and He did it in just 4 days...using people who care about our adoption...and even more amazing...some of them DON'T EVEN KNOW US!!!! They are friends of friends...some even so far removed we don't even KNOW what the connection is! How cool is that????

So...even though I have no idea how this is all going to come together, I have faith that it will...and that it will come in His timing, not mine! I've had the feeling all along that God is going to provide right on time...stepping in at just the time when we need it...and not a minute sooner! To live by faith is to trust God for what you cannot see. We are absolutely, 100% living by faith on this! WE cannot do this in our own strength and abilities...but we trust GOD will!!!

I've had some people tell me when I've shared with them about the Facebook event that they aren't on Facebook, but would like to help. If that's like you and you would like to join the Jansen Family Money Tree Baby Shower without joining Facebook, you can send your contribution to:

David & Kara Jansen

4888 Davis Blvd. #130

Naples, FL 34104

We appreciate every bit of help...it all adds up to something pretty amazing! :)

Now for a little update on baby and where we are in the non-financial aspects of the process! ;) The pregnancy is coming along fine. According to my Baby Center update, the baby is 19 weeks along, weighs 8 1/2 ounces, and measures about 6 inches...head to bottom, about the size of a large heirloom tomato. ;) We don't yet know the baby's gender...but are hoping to find that out in the next month or so. The birth mother had a doctor's appointment last week, but it wasn't an ultrasound appointment. Hopefully, she'll have an ultrasound next month so we can find out if Christopher's sibling will be a brother or a sister. According to Christopher, he's having a girl! He decided somewhere along the way (shortly after he had to give up the idea of one of each) that he was getting a sister! He has started drawing his "sister" in pictures that he draws of himself and/or our family! He's not alone...so many people think this baby is a girl. Only a few have mentioned they think the baby is a boy. It will be so fun to find out who is right! :) Right now, though...only God knows! And for us, it doesn't really matter! Just like when we started the process to adopt Christopher, we just want the baby to be healthy! And we just can't wait to welcome this baby into our lives, our home, our family!!!

Thank you for joining us on this journey! It's quite a ride!!! ;) God bless!