Gotcha day

Our gotcha day for Madison Ruth is July 26, 2010. I can't believe we have a new little girl! I am so thankful for her and for the work the Lord has done this last year.I can't believe that after a year of soooo many difficulties and struggles we have actually made it this far. God has challenged me in many different areas this last year and showed me so much. Through all the obstacles i have learned to trust God and not rely on my own sight. This has not been an easy lesson and it came with many tears,but i am learning to trust God in all things. I have thought about this day so much! It was just so surreal to be sitting in the judges room and hear her say that she is granting us guardianship with the right to take her to the US and adopt her. I was bitting my lip to try to hold the tears back,(while the judge was reading the ruling) but they still overflowed. Later that night, I was looking through my journal from last year and found this from July 25, 2009 (one year and one day from gotcha day).

" 'Faith doesn't know where it is being led, but it knows and loves the One who is leading.' Coming to Uganda, i had faith that this was from the Lord. I didn't know why or what was gong to happen, but I am so thankful i obeyed...Now we are stepping out in faith again to pursue adoption. I feel like i am over my head, but I am trusting the Lord to lead the way and provide."


Now it is a year later and the Lord has provided and He has been so faithful throughout this process. The adoption has definitely been a hard and seemingly long process. Some of what the Lord is teaching me came from a sermon series called "radical" by David Platt, (cant wait to also read the book) and books like "crazy love" and "in a pit with a lion on a snowy day". God has used all this to convict me and show me that as Christians we are not called to live the "American dream", but we are called to live radically and give ourselves to serving the poor, orphaned, and widowed, to live like Christ. How did Christ live? Richly with lots of stuff? No, his disciples found him among the poor, with the children, and serving the lost. Through this adoption process God has started something in me and i pray that God continues to convict me, and to show me what He wants me to do and how He wants me to serve. I really don't know, I just pray that God continues to move me closer to Him!

I pray that people don't look at our adoption process and focus on the struggles and the obstacles, but instead, focus on how faithful God has a been to us. From God's perspective there were never any mountains. Only from my eyes, from my lack of faith, did i see mountains. Thank you Lord for our new beautiful daughter and for the work You have stared in our lives.