You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted...

But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you;

You are the helper of the fatherless.  Psalm 10:14 

You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed…

Psalm 10:17

        As the mother of an only child right now, I have often wondered how you love more than one child.  As any mom with more than one child can tell you it just happens and you do.  My heart grew bigger last night and more love for Amyiah flooded in.  I am still amazed at this journey and how God uses the smallest things to teach us lessons that will be used for later.  My full of life, over the top, drama queen, angel child Anna Lee, who is six, got sick last night.  She has asthma, so any little sniffle or cold sends her spinning downward.  We were at church and she was preparing for a play that she has worked extremely hard for.  She loves choir, she loves to sing, she loves to dance and she was getting to do it all.  Until that fever hit, 10 minutes before she was to go on stage.  As I loaded her with medicine and sat in the corner of a church office we prayed.  We prayed for healing, strength and understanding incase she didn’t get to perform, as she had her heart set on doing.  She managed to do her part but then had to come off stage.  She was upset she didn’t get to finish, but I learned quick it was becoming a teachable moment for her.  That not all things go as we plan, and sometimes we work so hard for something and feel as if we don’t get the reward…when all the while most of our rewards will not be handed out on earthly terms.  I got to remind her all her practice and all her hard work, was already seen by the Lord, and her treasure and rewards are with him.  All the while she was learning valuable lessons, so was I.  As I held my fever splotched baby, thoughts flooded my mind of Amyiah.  How many times had she been sick and I wasn’t there to hold her?  How many times has she had a fever, and I wasn’t there to give her a cold rag to make it better?  How many times had she been upset, and I wasn’t there to plead her case before my Heavenly Father, as I did for Anna Lee through the night last night.  And then just as my Heavenly Father always does, He wrapped me up in his arms and comforted me by telling me He is preparing Amyiah for us, just as we are being prepared for her.  I haven’t been the one taking care of her when she is sick, but HE HAS.  She is His child first, and He has provided a way for her, and comforted her when her mother couldn’t.  His Word backs it up.  He not only told me, He wrote to me for confirmation in Psalms.  As I sat by the Christmas tree soaking in His word and praying for both of my children this morning I felt like the Grinch (in a good way when he got it together!).  I feel like my heart has grown three sizes this morning.  Love is flooding in for a child that is half way across the world. My prayer life is being renewed and strengthened through trying times in both of my children’s lives. 

       

 It is my birthday today, and I have been given the best gift I could ever have.  A Heavenly Father, that walks through life beside us, that knows what His Children need…all of them….even me! 

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!   1 John 3:1   

God's Will...His Good, Pleasing and Perfect Will

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will!

Romans 12:2

 

        I have learned throughout this journey God’s word is crucial, not only to my daily life, not only to this journey, but also to answer the simplest questions that are asked.  I love God’s word.  I love how it strengthens me, how it comes alive in my life.  How it helps me live each day, how it inspires me, how it speaks to me, and how it constantly refines my mind, my ideas, my lifestyle.  And sometimes how it answers the simplest questions in the matter of a few words. 

        I was asked not long ago, what if the child you get is crazy.  Can you take it back?  What if you don’t know what to do with it, or if you get her home and she has some crazy condition you can’t handle.  I answered the best I could at that time with the simple answer of that’s where faith comes in.  I serve a God that already has that worked out.  He has already hand-picked our little girl.  He has already matched her to us in His time; He is preparing us for whatever her needs are, just like He has equipped us to raise Anna Lee, which is no easy task either.  But, as I was reading in my quiet time this morning the Lord continued to confirm, reassure and continue to pour peace into my soul with Romans 12:2.  I have used this verse many times to teach young girls how to carry themselves through relationships.  We have used this verse many times to teach Sunday school lessons about confirming to the world.  We have used this verse many times to deal with many topics, but this morning the Lord used this verse to give me more confirmation and more answers. 

        Brad and I know this is God’s will for our family.  In the last part of Romans 12:2 God explains what His will is.  HIS WILL IS GOOD.  HIS WILL IS PLEASING.  HIS WILL IS PERFECT. So back to the question at hand…what happens if we get a crazy child?  Well, she will fit in with our other crazy child.  She will be Good, She will be Pleasing, She will be Perfect because she is the will of God for our family.  She is who God is using to refine our family to be more like Christ.  She has brought healing to a broken family.  She has brought us to our knees in more ways than anything else in our family.  She is allowing us to share the gospel, and talk about our faith.  She is already being prayed for and watched over by a Father who knows her every need.  Her family is being humbled each day we walk this journey.  Her parents are being brought closer than they ever were.  Her sister is being refined more and more each day to be able to fight for her and love her and pray for her.  God is changing each of us to be able to take care of this child, this Good, this Pleasing, this Perfect Child.  This is God’s will His Good, His Pleasing, His Perfect Will.  And she isn’t even home yet.  How much sweeter can it get?

A Family "in Training" For Amyiah

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord…Jeremiah 29:11

Brad and I have decided to grow our family.  We are expecting, but not in the traditional way.  We have decided to grow our family through the beautiful birth of adoption.  Hopefully and prayerfully this journey will be completed sometime over the next 12-18 months, with the addition of a beautiful little Haitian girl.  I say girl, she could be at least 2 or as old as six or seven.  At this point, only God knows who she is, and we are patiently waiting to see who He has picked to be our child.

          This journey started for us about three years ago.  The lord placed on my heart the need for more children and the want of more children, but not in the traditional way.  It’s hard to explain, but I have no desire to birth anymore children, but my heart has plenty of room to love, nurture and mother plenty more children!  Adoption has always been close to my heart, and through many circumstances God kept confirming that desire He has placed within me.  Brad wasn’t quite there yet.  However, over the last three years I have seen God refine him and get him ready for this very journey we have prayerfully decided to take.  Sometime between January and February of this year Brad decided it was time!  Watching the change in our family has been very exciting. Anna lee has grown so much over the last year as well.  I have seen how God is already changing her heart and transforming her to be the,” best big sister any little brown girl could have” those are her words!  She has gone from a self-absorbed only child syndrome, to a little mother hen anytime younger kids are around.  She has started donating her extra money and allowance to bringing her sister home.  She constantly prays that her sister is warm, fed and taken care of.  She talks about her like she is already here.  She is growing into quite the big sister already!  I remember asking God one time, why He gave me such a complicated, strong-will, stubborn, determined feisty little girl (this was one of those really hard days with her in my defense) and He never really answered me until now.  She is all those things and so much more because she has also been given the tasks of being a big sister, to a little brown girl in the heart of Hueytown, Alabama, which shouldn’t be an issue, but sometimes still is.  She is complicated, strong-willed, stubborn, determined and feisty, but the reason she is all those things and so much more is because God knew the plans He had for our family, and He outfitted each one of us for the road ahead.  He has planned each of our children that will be placed in our home, and He has prepared us for the road ahead.  I am beginning to see a common theme with this journey…often people ask why it takes so long to adopt, and I am realizing the answer is to refine me, to refine us, to make us better parents, to bring our families closer, to prepare the family that the child will be placed into.  This is a very special journey, and God uses the time to do amazing things and bring Glory to Him!

          So, you may be asking where we are at this point in the journey.  We are in the middle of our home study, which consist of paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork.  Lots of interviews and information.  Our home study should be wrapped up sometime around Christmas, Lord willing.  Every country is different and you have to be 35 to adopt from Haiti, and Brad will be turning 35 come April.  Once April is here we will be sending all our paperwork, the accumulation of everything throughout our home study, along with a referral of a child (which is the child we have picked) to the Haitian Government.  After they receive the paperwork, and everything is accepted then we should have a travel date for the first visit.  We are hoping that will be late summer early fall of next year.  Then after the first bonding trip as they call it, we will return home and wait on all the paperwork to be finalized and then have a final travel date to bring the child home.  Hopefully that will be by next Christmas, but we are on the Lord’s time and only He knows when Amyiah Nicole will be home.  Yes, that is the name we have chosen, well actually it’s the name Anna Lee chose but we liked it.  Amyiah means delight, and we have no doubt that is what she will be.  So, just like with any pregnancy I want to keep you all informed and up to date on what is going on in our family. 

          We often get asked many questions, the most popular being why international adoption and why not domestic and then the next being are you sure you want to adopt a black child.  I will answer them briefly… We have chosen Haiti because that is where God led us, and that is where our daughter is, and the second is yes, we are aware the child is black and we are aware this makes people uncomfortable, and we are okay with all of the above. God’s love for His children isn’t conditional, so why should a mother’s love be conditional to the color of skin.  Please feel free to talk to us about any questions, as I am sure there are many.  We welcome them.  Education is critical in this type of journey, so please be as open with us as you need to be to feel comfortable. 

          Please remember to keep us in your prayers.  We have already seen God work in amazing ways through the very early part of this journey, and we are excited to see how He is going to meet each need from here on out.  Remember to keep Amyiah in your prayers.  Start praying now for her transition into this family, pray for her protection, pray that her needs are met, where she is until she comes home to her forever family. Pray that God will use the time while we are still separated to refine us more, and prepare us for the day we get to hold her the first time.  Pray for Anna Lee as well, pray that she will continue to grow in wisdom and excitement.  Pray that God will give her the ability to share her mom and dad and that the transition will be smooth for her as well.  We are seeing early on, that this experience can bring a family so much closer.  It already has for our family and for my extended family here in Alabama.  So we are inviting you on this journey with us! 

          We will keep you informed and updated moving forward.  Hopefully the next letter will come with a picture of a new face!     Lots of Love!