I Will NOT Leave You As Orphans

It's a promise from our God who adopted us.

"I will NOT leave you as orphans, I will come to you."

John 14:18

God has, hasn't he? We are never alone.

A precious friend, Amanda, is ordering the above necklace for me. Amanda was going to surprise me with it as a baby gift. She even thought of creating a charm with name the Lord gave us for our son - Overcomer. I nearly cried when I saw the picture. I was begging Reid to "surprise" me with one for Valentine's Day because it's the new necklace specially designed for Feeding the Orphans. (Twenty percent of all proceeds go to FTO.) Additionally, Lisa Keefer, who designed it, uses all of her jewelry sales to fund her mission trips to Haiti. It's the gift of giving back!

We received word that Overcomer's exit interview is scheduled for Valentine's Day, February 14th. Only eight days from now! I can't believe it. We are so excited! Our travel will be soon, so please be praying. As I wrote a few weeks ago, I'd expected we would be in country sooner. Because of the significance of two days next week, I'd actually set some hopes on the dates I expected as well.

This morning while worshiping in church, I found myself at a place of sweet surrender. Tears surprised me as the weight of missing the anniversary of Ansley's death and being absent on Overcomer's birthday hit me like a lead weight. My heart longs to be present with our little one for his third birthday.

This afternoon, I received this message from a dear friend -

As we were singing in church today, I had a vision. A vision of victory, of you holding your precious son with a huge smile on your face. A victory that our Savior walked before you and fought for you. It was so incredibly clear, I could truly see you. :)

How comforting and beautiful is this assurance.

God's plans are better than my own. His timing is perfect. The moment our feet touch the ground in Ghana will be what God himself has orchestrated. The Lord comforted me through the words of "In Christ Alone" knowing that HE himself will be loving me completely on these two significant days.

What heights of love,

what depths of peace

When fears are stilled,

when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

Yes, I'll stand in His love.

Mason is very sick right now. He's been laying around for five days. Last night after talking to the doctor, Reid took him to the ER and returned home a few hours later. Mason's fever, coughing, and pain are due to a virus. Nothing more. We must wait it out. God gently whispers, "What if you were in Africa right now?"

At the end of December and beginning of January our entire family battled the stomach flu. It was horrible. Projectile vomiting and more (use your imagination) struck us all and kept us down for nearly three weeks. All through the sickness, I realized these were the dates we originally thought we might be going to Ghana. God gently whispered, "What if you were in Africa right now?"

Yes, HE has a plan. I need to plan less and trust more. Every day brings more love for this child joining our family.

Adoption is when a child grew in its mommy's heart instead of her tummy.

~Author Unknown