God!
Isn’t He just amazing? I wonder how people ever get by without a relationship with the Almighty. How in the world do they do it? But that’s a whole new story for another day.
Oh my, this journey to adopt Hailee has certainly been a tested one. Not in any bad way. Just a time of standing firm and not giving up–even when things seem impossible. It has been emotional. Some of you know how it feels to fall in love with a face–one tiny little picture. That’s all you have. But deep in your heart you just know that she’s (or he’s) the one.
So we sorted out my citizenship. No, we’re sorting out my citizenship. Our Congressman’s office has been fabulous. Absolutely amazing. They call us all the time to let us know how things are progressing. What an answer to prayer they have been.
Then we had the smaller issues of our marriage license and our finances. Flip, if I thought China was strict with their paperwork requirements, I think I may have changed my mind. This country that Hailee is in is seriously OTT. I guess it’s all part of adoption, no matter where you adopt from. Crazy.
Today we got the news we had been waiting for. Again we’ve found little loopholes that will allow us to adopt Hailee. The country will accept our paperwork, even with our issues that usually are not allowed.
Hallelujah!
Coincidence? Nope.
God? Absolutely.
Sometimes we have to dig deep. Sometimes when it feels like everything is against us and there is no possible way to make something work out, we have to stand firm! So it is with adoptions. The rules these countries have are, quite honestly, insane. With Haven’s adoption, we did not meet the requirements. And now with Hailee, we definitely do not meet the requirements.
But, we serve a Mighty God. An amazing Father. A God who loves orphans more than our hearts can ever comprehend. All He needs are those who will stand up and fight for His precious children. Those who will NOT give up when doors start shutting in their faces. God needs those who will dig deep and press in–all for the sake of saving one child at a time.
Do Anthony and I have some supernatural gift of faith, an ability to trust God for the extra-ordinary? Absolutely not. Like everyone else, we have days when we feel we can take on the world, and days when we feel the weight of the world on our shoulders. We’re just passionate about God’s orphans.
We’ve traveled and we’ve seen with our own eyes how these children live. But even closer to home, we’ve adopted one of the ‘least of these’–a little girl abandoned in China after her first family wrote her off as being “seriously mentally ill.” We’ve seen, before our very eyes, how a child, written off as being the lowest of the low, can blossom in a family. The transformation has been breathtaking. EVERY child deserves a chance, an opportunity to grow and experience the love of a family. No child deserves to be labeled ‘orphan.’ No child.
Of course the enemy hates seeing children placed in CHRISTIAN homes. Of course he will throw obstacle after obstacle across our path as we journey along the adoption road. The fight for a child’s life can become so intense, so very fierce. But that’s exactly what we have to do sometimes–fight for their very lives. It’s time to put on the full armor of God (which is so freely ours) and fight with a passion for these children. Let’s not give up, lie belly up or give the enemy the victory time and again when we don’t meet the ‘requirements.’ God is alive and well and more than able to fight on our behalf. How He adores orphans.
The fight for an orphan, one at a time, is so worth it.
Hang in there, sweet baby girl–your mommy and daddy are coming. You are worth fighting for!
