AMAZED!

I am sitting here amazed at what God can do.  I am also amazed by the generous people who have given of their resources to help us complete our adoption.  When we began this process many months ago, we did not have all the money necessary to complete it.  We trusted that if God had called us to adopt that He would provide the means for us to do so.  And He has.  We have been able to pay for everything thus far.  We have cut back as much as we can on our living expenses and have made a concerted effort to save as much as possible.  However, the travel situation has been a challenge. We did not anticipate having to travel to Ethiopia twice.  God, however, knew all along what would be required and I'm pretty sure He wasn't stressing about it like I was.  I have been a little disappointed because my efforts (emphasize the "my" here) to make some extra money have been in vain.  The farmer's market this year was the least profitable one we have had to date.  It is a lot of work that did not show very much profit.  Ditto our annual fall celebration here in town where we usually make a good profit.  We also held a cookie dough fundraiser - not a big hit.  I was beginning to wonder where God was - didn't He realize that my stomach was in knots worrying about all of this?   Why yes, yes He did.  And His plan was this:  watch and see what *I* will do.  And the checks started rolling in.  Completely, totally unexpectedly.  Gifts and notes of encouragement sent by family and friends who simply wanted to help us in our journey.  Wow.

Thursday, after hearing the news of our court date, I called a travel agent.  She sent me prices that night for flights to Ethiopia and we found one that will work quite well.  As I was looking over the itinerary, I noticed the list next to my computer of the gifts that people have sent to us.  I tallied up the total and realized that those gifts would cover the cost of one of our tickets - within just a few dollars.  Friday, I visited the mailbox again and was surprised to find two more checks.  Then I received an email saying that another one is on the way!  We are well on our way to our second ticket!  After the proceeds from the iPad raffle are tallied, I'm pretty sure that all of our expenses for our first trip to Ethiopia will be covered.  That is HUGE!  I am so incredibly grateful for God's provision and for the people who have given so freely to help us bring our daughter home.  My thanks seem inadequate, but I hope that someday, when baby S is finally home forever with a family that loves her so much, they will know that they played a part in that and be blessed.

I like this passage from the Message:

Matthew 6:30-33  "If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.