He's always on time!

With our first adoption last year...we were completely fearful...how will we pay such a seemingly enormous bill? ADOPTION IS EXPENSIVE...and we couldn't even scrape up enough to fund the home study!

But we believed. We KNEW that God had told us to adopt. A most preposterous, shocking directive it was as neither of us had EVER given a single thought to adoption...and why would we? We were broke and able to have more biological children! I'll get into that miraculous story of His leading and the confirmations that abounded another time.

We sent out letters to friends and family members. The message was simple..."God has told us to adopt. We don't have the money to do it. If you feel led to participate in this send your check to the adoption agency." Through an experience that can only be defined as miraculous...we raised $19,000 in 3 weeks!

As I look back on that, I see that God was truly merciful to us. We were WAAAAAYYY out on a limb. We stepped out in faith and began the adoption of "Potato" as we believed He had directed and He was generous and merciful to us in that immediately our faith was rewarded with profound provision!

NOTE TO READERS: Always trust Him...when He calls you to do something He WILL provide...completely.

When we began the chase to bring Isaiah home, we had no money and we wondered..."surely God wouldn't want us to really do this again?" We did not believe it was correct this time to send out a letter...I knew that we were to pursue Adoption Grants. But, part of the experience this time was a stretching by the Lord to take us deeper in a faith journey. We were not going to realize the full adoption funding in 3 weeks as we had done last year...no this time He wanted us to wait...and to be CONFIDENT in Him.

We began in December. I think on or around April 1 I realized that we had only come up with $3500...a very long, long way from $18,ooo-$19,000. But I can honestly say that on that day, as I thought about it, I was ANXIETY free in the face of the reality. I knew that God had called us again and I KNEW He was faithful. His timing is always perfect.

I wrote lots and lots of grant letters. Slowly we began to receive responses...$3000 here...$1000 there...$2000 someplace else...but all the way through...I knew...He would be on time.

There are many of you reading this blog who would say to yourself, "Sure, I've considered adopting...but we could NEVER afford it."

This is what I've learned about God in this last 2 years of following the call of adoption...Adoption is the VERY HEART of God. The scripture teaches and those of you who have experienced it know that when we surrender our lives to Jesus, we are ADOPTED into the very family of God. Once cosmic orphans we become fully adopted, with all the privileges of the family of God...our forever spiritual family. GOD IS THE GOD OF ADOPTION! And when we say "yes" to Him and to a child that needs a forever family here on this earth...I am convinced that God will do all the heavy lifting. I don't mean that it'll be easy...that you can just sit back and coast...but only that if you trust Him with it...HE WILL DELIVER!

Today I experienced further evidence of my above claim...

We had really wanted to travel to China in August even to be back before the middle of the month...but our approvals just did not come. Once we finally had our approvals, we purchased plane tickets on a credit card...still we were believing that God was going to provide in His timing.

On the last day of July, plane tickets already in hand and a "face the facts" reality setting in that we were still about $4000 short...I sent in one last grant letter. This was from a Grant that had twice rejected us...but I felt that I should appeal to them just one more time.

This morning I received a phone call from the administrator of the Fund. She had been in contact with me multiple times over the past few weeks asking for additional information from us to submit to the Grant committee. Yesterday I had sent off another 10 page fax to her and told the hungry, impatient kids in the van "Mommy has to send this...it could help us bring Isaiah home." I thought MAYBE, maybe we might be blessed with a $1000 Grant.

When I received her call today I braced myself for the "sorry to inform you" statement. Instead she said "On behalf of the Grant Committee I am pleased to inform you that you have been awarded a grant in the amount of $3500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I cried...so did she...I told her that this was an answer to prayer...that God's timing was perfect.

Faith became reality today...just 2 1/2 weeks before we leave to bring home this child of Promise...He was right on time...

Step out...HE is a big God...and we give all the GLORY to Him...great things He has done!