$15,000 Faith

As I was stood ironing in our kitchen, my husband came in from a church service. He leaned against the pantry door and said "Soooooo....." I have come to realize after 12 years of marriage that "Soooo..." means something big just happened.
What follows in a skinnied down version of our conversation...my thoughts are in parentheses.

"So a lady came up to me and said the Lord had put me on her heart"
(Oh no, not again. God are you sending us to Africa to be missionaries?)
"She said the Lord said it was about finances."
(Ha, not anymore we have Dave Ramsey ;-)
"He told her there was something we were doing that we needed money"
(Ok this isn't a joke, Lord, this is about our adoption!) Sidenote: this is where I started to cry
"She showed me her check register Trish, she wrote me a check 2 weeks ago."
(Oh, Lord, that is when we scheduled our home study.)
"I have right here a check for 5..."
($5000.00?! Oh my gosh, Lord...this is...)
"$500.00! Can you believe that?"
"Wow!", I replied. "That is amazing! Don't laugh, but I honestly thought you were going to say $5000.00. I just know how well He has taken care of us, and the crazy things He has done for us before, and it just wouldn't have surprised me if it was $5000.00"
"You know Trish, I think if we have $15,000 Faith He would do that for us too."

So, by the way...$500.00 was exactly what we needed to add to what we had already saved, to pay for our home study. (that was a lot of prepositional phrases). I believe He will give us everything we need in this process, because we believe He led us in the direction and His Word says He WILL provide all of our needs according to His riches.
I ABSOLUTELY HAVE $15,000 FAITH! DO YOU???????

Ode to the Adoption Journey

Teeter Totter bread and Water, Oh, But this is high!
Now I'm low and up you go, Almost to the sky.

Teeter Totter Bread and Water, What a Merry Ride!
Hold on tight with all your might, or off the board you'll slide

Teeter Totter Bread and Water, How the wind does blow!
Fresh & Strong it comes along, As upward swift I go

Teeter Totter Bread and Water

TEETER: We got great news today. Our home study is officially scheduled for March 31! YEA!!!! (details of the celebration cleaning party at our house to come later;-) How exciting! This is what really gets the ball rolling. We are so excited I can't even begin to tell you.


TOTTER: We got some disappointing news today! Our agency, Hand in Hand, sent a letter out to day from the Executive Director of the Inter-Country Adoption Board of the Philippines basically saying "we currently have very few children available for inter-country adoption. This would mean that there will be a longer waiting period for child placement" Our agency tagged on "As other countries’ adoption programs have either closed or lengthened or become more costly, an increasing number of families have turned to the Philippine program. Because the Philippines is so much smaller in size and population, there are not nearly as many children available for adoption as there is, for example, in China. So it is understandable that wait times might increase"

Boy was that like a teeter totter of emotion. The thrill of flying up into the air and then the kid on the other end hopped off. WHAM! Remember that feeling? But you know I always got back on. The thrill of flying was to alluring to give up just because of some big bump.
It is disappointing to realize that what could have potentially been a 2 year wait could now be longer...but I serve a big God. He will expedite this process or better yet, may teach us something through the lengthening of the process. I have to come to realize one thing in the passed few years....whether I like it or not, I am not in charge and I just need to let go and trust the Lord in all situations.
Game on...this is going to be interesting to see what He is going to do!

Coincidence? I Think Not!

I've been thinking a lot about this adopting process. So many questions, so many logistics, so many things unforeseen. But one thing I know for sure, God knows it all. We have been praying throughout this short journey (I don't know how people do it without prayer, honestly, whew!). The crazy thing is we are praying for a child we have never met. One who, in all likelihood, is not even born, probably not even thought of yet, more than likely not even conceived yet! We are praying for this child's *biological parents, who don't even know we exist. Now, some may say that it is fate, or luck, or coincidence. But, God told the prophet Jeremiah this, "Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you." I believe the Word of God and I believe that He has set apart a man and a woman in the Philippines who will soon make one of the biggest decision of their lives. I believe He is forming a young life that has been set apart to be a part of The LaGrange family, and that is No coincidence. You see, we believe in the God, who formed us and knew us before we were born, who loves us, who cares what happens to us, who wants to have relationship with us, and that He doesn't make mistakes, and He definitely doesn't make "coincidences".
*I know the proper term is "birth parent" but since there probably isn't a "birth" yet in this scenario I decided to go with the less PC , but more accurate term, "biological parent" ;-)