Faith, Risk and Truth

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen".... Hebrews 11:1

Faith is suppose to be terrifying!  Faith requires leaning into the fear.  Faith is believing and not seeing.  Faith always involves risk!  For weeks maybe even months as Nate and I prayed over adopting our two boys we asked, okay, even begged, for God to show us they were our boys!  We sought out others in our adoption circles to see if they new anything about the boys.  We read everything single peace of information our adoption agency had on the boys.  Some times we would here positive information about them, but never anything that would satisfy my hunger to know what kind of boys they really were.  I wanted to know would they love my kids, did they love the Lord, would the oldest love and mentor our oldest?  What kind of boys were they?  Aggressive and angry?  Mild and meek?  I wanted to know character stuff, not the stuff I was hearing, they like soccer and they speak some English!  Begging the Lord to give me just a glance, just a hint of who they were and what God was asking of me, us, to allow in our most intimate place, our home and our family.  He was silent, everyone was silent!  Until we said yes!!!  In faith and obedience as we sought His will, not just for our lives, but for orphans, we joined Him in what he was doing.  And to the world (and even me some days) thinks is CRAZY.  We said yes to disrupting birth order and to adopting not one but two older boys.  With great faith in trusting God is who He says He is, we said yes!  Without the writing on the wall or the sky, or anywhere for that matter, no matter how hard I prayed, we said yes!  He asked us to say yes without knowing the answers to so many of my questions!  And then.....

Two weeks after accepting their referral, and what felt like signing our lives away, God's sweet answers came pouring in!  Sweeter than I could have every imagined!  Here is what a precious little Ethiopian boy (who was adopted last summer and now living with his forever family) wrote to us through his mom about our oldest soon- to-be son!  I'll call him L and our older boy D and our little boy B for privacy reasons, until they are legally ours.    

   L wants you to know he has been praying evvveryday for D and B.  L says to trust God because you're gonna make it. He is telling me that D was one of his dearest friends in the whole world. D is as much of brother as L has ever had. He is encouraging you and your husband that they are amaing boys.      

He says D likes candy! He loves music! He is a good guy. When I asked "Does he love God?" He replied "Oooohhhh yeah. He is a pastor. He knows God heart." L is telling me how happy he is to know YOU are the family to choose these boys. He just keeps smiling about B. He says he knows D better, but that B is such a good boy.

I asked L "Why were you and D such good friends? What was your favorite thing about him?" He said "Because he help me with everything, with life. He is little bit older than me so he would stop me from fighting and getting sad when I didn't have a family. We tell each other evvvverrrything! He is my brother. I love him" Let me say once more, L IS ESTATIC. He truly has been praying for your boys since the second he left Ethiopia. I remember my daughter telling me about a time when he described his relationship with his 'brothers' in ET. He felt an intense amount of grief leaving them and he felt all he could do was pray they would be taken care of. We had no answers to his questions of why he got to come here but his brothers were left in the orphanage. And as far as we know D and B are the first ones to find families since L left. This is such good news for our family!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???  All of my questions answered trough the mouth of a child!  The oldest Loves the Lord!  He was a mentor to a younger boy!  He is kind and keeps others from fighting and encourages them in their pain!!!!  L prayed for them!  He cried out to God that his friends, his "brothers", would find a family!  Our good amazing God heard and answered a little boys cries!  The Holy Spirit spoke to us and through the fear we said yes that we would have FAITH!  I ask God to give me just a glimpse of who my sons would be!  God is so good to answer the prayers of His people!  John 14:14 "Ask me anything in my name and I will do it".   And James 1:6 writes when asking for wisdom, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting..."!  Amen!  God answers prayers!!!  

So lean into the Fear!  Trust the terrifying!  Believe what you can not see!  For God is good and He is true to His word!!!  Have FAITH!!!

James 1:17-18  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. ¹⁸ Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

 D is kind and loving!  B is a good boy!

                Our first family photo!!!  The boys seeing their crazy family for the first time!