Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Floods and Showers

Those of you who may not be up on "world news" probably don't realize that in the last few days, The Philippines has been inundated with rain from Tropical Storm Ondoy (or Ketsana). Metro Manila is flooded and the outlying areas like Rizal are positively drenched! Electricity is out all around the area and many of the poorest of the poor have lost their shacks, some their lives. Please pray for the precious people of The Philippines. When I heard the news of this disaster, my selfish mind went immediately to Ezequiel. "Where is my baby?" was my first thought. I admit my thoughts probably should have gone to the lovely family members we have living in PI and to the people as a whole, who struggle to feed their families and carve out some sort of a dignified existence amid some daunting economic hardship but all I could think about was Ezequiel and pray that he is safe. My next selfish thought jumped to our adoption process and the realization that this flood will inevitably slow down our paperwork and cause us to have a post-Christmas travel date. Yes, I know, self-centeredness at it's finest! I admit these things only to share how utterly convicted I felt about them yesterday.
Some of our friends, those who have dedicated themselves to our fundraising and who started "Friends of Ezequiel" just continue to bless us minute by minute. Yesterday they had a baby shower for us. We were blessed with diapers, wipes, a winter coat, shampoo, onesies, pajamas, socks and gift cards galore! If doing all the other work for our adoption was not enough, these ladies just showered us with more love and care than we could ever deserve.
It was on the way home that I realized in a new way how God truly does "more than we ask or imagine". It was then that the confidence in the God I serve to protect and bring our boy home safely was bolstered to new heights. Be it December or January, what's another month? God is sovereign and He is more than able! Praise to His
holy and matchless name!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

I Know You

Just when I was getting discouraged about the progress (or lack thereof) with our adoption, a ray of sunshine appeared in our mailbox yesterday. It was the notification from US Homeland Security of our appointment for biometric fingerprinting. Those of you who have not adopted a child internationally may wonder what in the world I'm talking about. For my husband and I to be cleared to adopt, we must submit our fingerprints and have them compared with the prints of known felons, terrorists and other derelicts of society. Despite the fact that our fingerprints never change, this process has to be repeated for each international adoption (to the tune of $870 each time). In any case, we are scheduled to have our prints takes soon and that will be one step closer to our precious boy!

I was browsing his orphanage web site (www.gentlehands.org) and looking at the pictures of the children. There is one picture of Ezequiel on that web site and it's fairly old. I'm guessing he was less than a year old when it was taken. While I was gazing at his photo, I was struck with the most unusual sense of familiarity. I looked into his eyes and thought "I KNOW you. You're my baby" and it seemed the most logical notion on Earth. We've never met this child. We don't know the sound of his voice, how he likes to be held or his favorite food. I have no idea what his hair looks like after a bath . . . but as I looked at his photo today, I KNEW him.
It reminds me of how our Heavenly Father names us and claims us before we even come into His family. We are His before we ever know Him. As we run around in our lostness without a Godly heritage, the Creator of the Universe looks upon us and says
"I know her. She's my baby". I appreciate that so much more now.
Thank you, Jesus, for claiming me!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Joy Comes in the Morning

Right now, I am struggling mightily not to become discouraged in waiting to bring Ezequiel home.
He is waiting. He needs a family. The only thing that stands between Ezequiel and his eager family is government action. The Philippines must do their part and the US must do their part. I am a bit down right now. Looking at pictures of our sweet boy does not, at least today, encourage me. It only makes my heart ache.
Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to look at our baby and feel the joy of knowing he is coming soon. Today, he is far off and I'm sad.

"Sorrow only lasts for a night but joy comes in the morning" Psalm 30:5

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