May the God of Hope fill you!

May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 Lily has been home 2,730 days. Ask anyone in adoption, and if they are honest, they will tell you it is the most beautiful thing…but also the most brutal. For the past 2,730 days we have learned and grown, did some right things, and did some wrong things. Some days have been beautiful and some have been brutal. Today Lily turns 10. Double digits. And over the past year I have seen so much growth and beauty in her. But it came through the brutal. A few years ago, we were at a craft show. A young woman stopped by and chatted with Lily. I think I met her in a quick passing, but apparently, she and Lily had a pretty colorful conversation. If you know Lily, this isn’t hard to do. A few days later I received a Word from Jesus over Lily’s life from her. The past few months I can not quit thinking about her words. Because I see them coming true in front of my eyes. But first I need to set the scene of how and when these beautiful words were delivered. This was about 3 years ago…we were at Costco. For some reason Costco is the place I tend to lose my Jesus. From people telling Lily, “Man I wish I had that ride; I am tired of walking.” Yes, people say those things. To, “You are gonna get a speeding ticket." to "Do you have a license to drive that thing.” To, all the stares, to the rude comments, to you name it. Well, this night it happened to be my own kids acting a fool and not the general public. This is how the night went. Both kids acted a fool. Both kids fought the entire time. Both kids raced all over the store to see who would win (and this drives me crazy for reasons I will share another time and if you live in our circle, you already know…insert eye roll of judgement from the general public). We had bought a pretty heavy item. Brad needed help getting it into the car. I had thrown my back out earlier in the week from lifting Lily so I was out of commission. Told the kids to help. To which one replied, “I am already in the car, isn’t that your job.” Let me just stop right there and say I lost my Jesus. I was the one that acted a fool. I pretty much lost my mind on all them fools on the way home. I don’t think anyone said a word for the next 30 minutes. And all I could think about on the way home is how I was gonna be on fox 6 on your side, 10 o’clock news, Baptist white woman whips tail in the Costco parking lot. I am feeling pretty low. And remorseful. And I still want to whip some disrespectful tail. All the emotions. And my phone dings. This is what I read. Jennifer, I was at PWAP last night and mentioned to Lily that she would change the world one day and that her joy was infectious. I don’t know your story but the Lord continued to speak to me concerning Lily all night. I almost went back to PWAP to tell you but it was over by the time I could go back. So, I asked for your information and thankfully they gave it to me. Forgive me if this is a little weird for you, but I have learned that when the Lord speaks, I listen. And it is not often that He clearly gives me a recipient so quickly and so tangibly. God told me that Lily’s impact will affect nations. Not only in a blanket statement of “she’s a world changer” kind of way but that her joy will change the trajectory of lives. He told me that “laughter will bubble up in the bellies of the oppressed” because of Lily. I had to pull over on the side of the road because I could feel the impact she would have on people. I started sobbing feeling like my life had just been changed with a single glimpse of her joy. Multiply that for the thousands that will change the world. She will redefine what it means. “Trajectory” was a word He kept placing on my heart for her. She gave me her info and that was it. I sat there taking in what all I just read. I silently whispered to the Lord, why give me this at this moment. Why give this to me when I just lost my crap and felt like the biggest loser. I texted her back and explained that we are a hot mess. And that her words were timely. That I needed reminding what little people I was raising that will do big things. I needed reminding of the Kingdom work to be done. And I needed reminding that even when we are at our worst God still sees our best. We are still usable. Broken and Usable. I have held onto these words for years. I go back to them on the hard days. But more so than ever in the last year I see this all over Lily’s life. She has already changed our world. So much for the better. I see her joy. It bubbles out of her. I see her fearlessness. That comes from that sister that never lets her win just because you see a disability that we see as a strength. She is doing mighty things. She is moving mountains and changing this world. And I have a front row seat. SO much growth has happened since that night. Lily is in such a good place. I have watched kids from her orphanage come home and struggle. I have watched her struggle. I have watched the turmoil that brutally burns inside these babies to make sense of all the trauma. And sometimes she seems to escape the brutality of it all, when others don’t. I have wrestled with so many emotions over the last seven years. I have watched her become a beautiful soul. And the reason…JESUS. He has taken the brutally broken Dobson’s and taken all that was ugly and made it beautiful. He has taken a broken little baby from the inner city of Haiti, and planted her in Alabama and given her a beautiful story He is writing just for her. He has given her the strongest sister to carry all that has come with this journey she never asked for either. She has shown her how to fight, how to overcome, how to be fierce and loyal, how to win, how to have grit and not give up. He has given her a daddy that cuddles her and loves her fierce. He does all the things a girl dad should do plus more. He knows how to fix wheelchairs, and play rap music, and fill in all the gaps. He has given her a momma that is just as strong willed as she is. That loves her the way Jesus intended us to love. She has a momma that will fight those battles she can’t until she can. She has a momma that hasn’t lowered the bar just because life handed her the crap end of the stick. She has a circle of people that love her well and embrace all her joy. Jesus is why she will change this world. He is why joy fills her soul. She will change the nations. I am not sure how. I am not sure when. But I am here for it. Watching and waiting. Lily belle, Happy Birthday, my fierce little Haitian Hurricane. Blow through this world with all the force Jesus gives you! You are loved.