1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
What keeps us moving forward? These 3 things: faith, hope and love.
We have been through quite an emotional roller coaster these past few weeks. Just when we thought that we were done with our fundraising and ready to "get things accomplished" and get ready to bring some children home, God allowed another mountain to come up before us. It is not like we didn't expect more mountains in our path, just not one quite this big and debilitating. Some of you already know what has happened, while others do not. We purchased a new to us van in July. It is a great van and we truly felt God led us directly to this particular van. So, 2 1/2 months later and less than 3,000 miles later, the van goes kaput on Sunday, September 30. The transmission has to be replaced. We have gone through a lot of options from selling the current van and buying a new one, fixing the current van's problem, and replacing the current van's transmission. All the solutions are costly and quite honestly, more costly than we can afford right now. But...not for God. Ever since the day this happened, I have known and felt God would take care of us. (Not to say that I haven't had my days--- I've cried and been mad). But, God is faithful and He will provide. So, here we are 2 weeks later and we are still waiting on God to show us the proper path, who to fix it, and where the money will come from. Along the way, God has given us hope. Hope that through all of these circumstances of our lives, He is there, a beacon of light that shines so bright in the darkness that we would have to be blind not to see it.
I had to turn down 4 substitute jobs in 1 week because of only having 2 cars instead of our normal 3. We just couldn't make it work for me to get everyone where they needed to be and not be overly stressed out. So, I turned them down, questioning God, "Why God? How can I pay to fix the van if I can't work to get the money?" Well, during the week following that, we were blessed with the EXACT same amount as I would have made BEFORE taxes! People, I can't make this stuff up. God is amazing and He is working miracles daily. We just have to open our eyes and hearts to see where He is working.
We have definitely been experiencing a lot of spiritual warfare lately as well. Through our children, marriage, friends, and finances. But, our God is able. Here is a quote from my Facebook post on October 8...
Somewhere along the journey, I must see past the circumstances that threaten to steal my joy, that rob me of my time, and kill my passion. Satan has come like a thief to steal, kill, and destroy. Somewhere along the way, faith is all that is left. And it is there, where I meet Jesus face to face. I do not understand today, but God is already in tomorrow. He sees the end, I see the journey. Lord, give me your eyes so I can see...
That post I have had to reread many times since that day. The very next day after that, we experienced something that could have devastated us. We definitely weren't happy about it, but we asked God to give us eyes and He did. Why would we be upset about it? God doesn't always answer us the way we want. But He does answer.
One of my favorite songs from my teen/20's was by Garth Brooks. It was Unanswered Prayers. It says, Just remember when you're talking to the man upstairs, that just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care, Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. I have to remember that just because I don't see or hear the answer right now, doesn't mean He hasn't answered or won't. Sometimes the answer is wait or no. I believe that those are the hardest answers. But I also think that those are the times that He is protecting us the most.
So, here we are. We are waiting. We are waiting on God to guide our next step. We are learning so much in the process. We are learning so much about God and His faithfulness and the hope that only comes from Him. But the greatest is the Love for us. All that we are going through right now, is because of His love for us, His children and the love He has for 1 or 2 special children and preparing a place for them in our home. We have said all along that God's timing is perfect and oh how wonderful the day will be. Until then, we wait and we learn and we love.
We still have shirts left. Less than 10 now. If you would like to order a shirt, please let me know. They are $20. We have small, large and x-large left. If you haven't picked yours up yet, please contact me so we can meet up. If you have received yours but haven't paid for it yet, please do.
I pray that you are blessed today. I pray that your life is touched in a special way. Thank you so much for your prayers. We love you all so dearly!
In His Grip,
Chris and Elizabeth
