I Had No Idea...

When I began to pray over this experience 8 or 9 months ago, I told you I was praying for Joyful Obedience, hence the name of our blog. :)

As I prayed, I prayed for myself - that if I was wrong, and this journey was not one to which God was calling our family, that I would respond with Joyful Obedience and walk away from it and let it go.  I prayed for Jodie - that if I wasn't wrong, and this journey was one to which God was calling our family, that he would respond with Joyful Obedience and be on the same page, quickly get on board and get this ball rolling.  I prayed for Samantha and Georgia - that they would be happy about our decision and God's call on our family, and that they would love their brother as if he'd always been part of our family.  I prayed for our families - that they would be supportive and accepting of our new son, no matter his medical condition, his skin color, his history, or his country of origin.  I prayed that we would all Joyfully Obey and love this child as if he were our biological kin.

As I prayed, I quite often found myself praying that "Everyone Involved" (trying to quickly mention all of the above in one fell swoop) in our adoption story would respond with Joyful Obedience.  I had no idea that I was praying for many more people than just those mentioned above.

As support of our journey has begun to trickle in, it is becoming quite clear to me that "Everyone Involved" will encompass way more than myself, Jodie, our girls, and our extended family.   We have received logistical support - whether it be medical advice concerning our little guy, or just rushing paperwork through a government system.  We have several people who have willingly sacrificed their time to write a reference letter (or 2 in some cases).  We have received financial and prayer support from many outside of that little group, and we have been so very humbled.

As we drove home from visiting with family yesterday, it struck me how God uses everyone to complete one of His missions.  And make no mistake, this is a mission.  I can't share much about our son (due to the fact that it isn't officially official yet, and due to the fact that our girls still don't know about him specifically), but what I can share with you is the scene in one of the pictures we received of him.  Picture a little boy sitting on a table playing with a toy.  Right next to him on that very same table - a statue of Buddha.  Yes, this is a mission.  God has a special plan for this sweet boy, and I am so thankful that we will be part of it.  And I will continue to pray for "Everyone Involved" in his homecoming.

Thank you all for your support.  It means more to us than you will ever know.