Thursday, May 24, 2012

 The rain is gently washing the earth of its filth. The birds, they are singing praises to God, enjoying the puddles beside the road. My heart, so alive. So conscious that "every good and perfect gift is from Above". If only I were more of a writer. I feel I cannot do justice to all the emotions in my heart that deserve to be put into writing. But I will try. 
 This month has been a different one. Hard stuff. Times of reflecting. Times of quiet surrender. Times of prayer. Times of great rejoicing! Reality is: if it were not for God, we would spin in circles, not knowing how to deal with it all. BUT, because we know Him, we are safe. We trust. We keep walking.
 A month ago we were in MB with Lyndon's family. This was the first time we saw his mom since her diagnosis of Gastric Cancer, so you can imagine it was hard. And yet, it was wonderful to get together with the family and encourage each other. We don't know what the future looks like for the rest of her journey here on earth, but we do know that life on earth is but the beginning of eternity. Death is but a transition into the land where there is no more sin, no more pain, and no more tears, for those who have been forgiven by God. Lyndon's mom told us that although she would love to stay and be with her family longer, she does look forward to seeing her Saviour! She also testifies that amidst the hard times, she has felt totally at peace, and that God's strength continues to sustain her in ways she has never experienced before. I pray God will be gracious to her, and keep her from excruciating pain. 

  In the midst of hard questions, we have also experienced lots of joy! May 12-13 we were at Canada's first "Together For Adoption Conference". We learned so much about the joys and hardships that can come with adoption. Some highlights that really stuck out to us were: 
 -The brokenness you see in orphans, and the trauma they've been through,  is a perfect picture of what I was like before God adopted me. Precious thought that the brokenness he sees in my life does not scare Him away, but rather He loves me all the more. And He pursues me. He wants to mend my hurts. He wants to give me purpose in life. He tells me "I belong".
 -There are 134 million orphans in the world. There are 2.4 billion Christians. If I got my stats right, then only 1 family out of 4 churches around the world would need to adopt one child, and we would have no orphans left.  
 -There are over 2500 verses in the Bible about caring for orphans and/or widows. Not that I believe God is calling every person to adopt, but I firmly believe He calls everyone to support and love orphans.


 As far as our adoption journey, I have news for you!! Feb 3 we were placed on a waiting list with our adoption agency, due to them having maxed out on Canadian parents they can work with at one time. We were told that we would "hopefully" be placed on an active list in 4-6 months. Well, just shy of 4 months, we are now officially on the active list! The birth moms will get to see our profile now, and we just wait and see how long it takes to be chosen! The average wait time is still 9-18 months, but there is a small possibility that it could happen sooner than that. I have gone into a frenzy with all that needs to be done. Just about finished organizing our entire house now. Also working with getting ready for a huge garage/bake sale for a fundraiser. (Did I mention how much I LOVE having a garage sale? Can't wait! Maybe someone will want my junk! Sorry, no sarcasm now!) My to-do list grows every day. 
1) Finish painting nursery
2) Refinish rocker and sew cushions for it.
3) Make baby sling
4) Order diaper bag
5) Buy all most baby supplies...where to start? "Overwhelming" can be the word of the day at any given time!
6) Finish painting change table
7) Flooring for nursery
That's only the VERY beginning! I will spare you the rest of the details, for now!


 That's all, folks!




Prayer of the Children: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=I_xj6Ymz9ak