God never promised this life would be easy. He did promise that He would be there with us every single step of the way. "Is it really that easy?" some have asked me. "Yes!" I respond. We must ask that He guide our every step, decision, thought, action. We must ask Him to bless the decision that we make. We do our absolute best to make sure that we are doing what He wants us to. The verse that keeps being brought to mind today is:
Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
We believe whole heartedly that God has called us to a purpose. That purpose being adoption. In order for Him to fulfill that purpose, certain "earthly" things must happen for our family. From the beginning (16 months ago), we have given God our "list" of things that had to happen. As I looked at the list 16 months ago, I thought, "Wow! Those are HUGE items. I don't know how God will accomplish these, but I have faith that He will." Over the course of the following months, He accomplished each one on the list in the order that we wrote them. (Crazy, huh? Nope, that's God.) Here was our list. I give it to you in hopes that you will see the mountain in front of you for whatever it is that you might be dealing with and realize that if you just hand it over to God, He will take care of it.
1. Stop keeping kids in my home. (February 23, 2012- last day keeping sweet Sophie girl-- applied to begin substitute teaching).
2. April 2012--- began subbing. Have had an average of 10 calls per month since I began.
3. Chris a raise---February 8, 2012--- Chris had said (to God) that we needed a big raise. Normally, he would have gotten a 1.95% raise for cost of living. But he got a 6% raise!!!! PTL!!!! Only God!!!!
4. New house---We listed our house at the end of February 2013 and HE SOLD it on April 29, 2013!!!!! Found our new house on May 1!!!! Closing on May 30!!!!
5. Both of us newer vehicles. We don't buy new cars. So, we will be looking for Chris a new vehicle in a month or 2. We are looking for a 2000 to 2004 mid size car. Honda Accord, Toyota Camry or Nissan Altima. If you have one or know someone who does, let us know. We will be in the market for one soon. I will begin looking in about 6 months for me a new van. We will be looking for a 2006-2008 Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna. Again, if you have or know someone who does, we will be looking. This is the last part for God to complete.
There has been much prayer over this entire process. God has proven to us that with faith, ALL things are possible. He has shown us that mountains move daily and in the past few days, He has shown us that they move on a minute by minute basis. WOW! We are so encouraged every day by the stories from God's people that He continues to place in our paths. Just today, I called the insurance agency that we are using for the homeowners insurance on the new house. I called to see if the quote was ready. I had talked to the lady the other day, but today, through a series of questions, I ended up sharing that we were adopting. She and her husband had adopted too!!! Twice...once internationally and once domestically. Even better, she knew the family we were buying the house from. Is God amazing or what!!!???!!! This journey just gets better and better.
How can you pray today?
1. Please pray that everything will continue to go well. Our inspection on our house was yesterday and the inspector found a couple of things that we need to fix. Please pray that it will all go smoothly. The inspection on the new house was today and the inspector found a few things. Please pray that all of that will go well too. Please pray for the loan process to continue to run smoothly.
2. We are filling out the application for School Choice for both our youngest and middle children. Please pray that those will both be accepted.
3. I have completed my portion of our adoption application. Please pray that Chris will be able to complete his quickly. AND that I would be patient with him. Now that I've completed my portion, I kind of want him to hurry up. BUT, it is all in His time, not ours.
4. Please pray for me as the school year wraps up and everything winds down. And pray for us as we pack up. Lots of memories have been made in this house but the house holds lots of memories from before we moved in. Chris' Granny lived in the house before us. The first Summer we lived in the house, we returned from our vacation and as we walked in the door, Benjamin said, "Oh wow, I smell Granny." We all cried. The house has always helped us in the process of saying goodbye to Granny. We have felt her here with us. As much as we are excited to begin a new chapter in a new house, we will all be sad to leave this home that holds so much for us.
5. Please pray for a smooth transition. As I type, we have only 21 days until closing.
Thank you for all that you do for us. The support and love are overwhelming. Until next update.
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
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