We have spent the last 2 weeks in prayer together and separately to seek the Father for His plans for our family. Honestly, I have felt for months that we would be adding to our family through adoption again. Roger was not so sure...it took a longer time, God's timing, for him. We both want to be completely on track with God's plan for our lives and our family! God has clearly spoken to each of us in different ways to confirm His call for our family!
We are excited to see what this will look like.... who He has already chosen to be our child(ren). We are thinking we will adopt again from Ethiopia...
As it is with God, we find that when we truly seek Him we gain so much more than we even first thought and/or dreamed about. He has revealed so much already to both Roger and I. Most of it is stuff we already knew.....but alot of it is hard heart issues. We are being refined, sanctified and made more into the likeness of Jesus!
Zechariah 13:9
This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
It is hard...it is somewhat painful and it is scary! BUT...there is a joy in this that is beyond what we would think of. God in His mercy and grace is loving us through this..( I know that you all know what that is like) We are seeing that even though we "think" we know what the absolutes are when it comes to what we should do ~and we both think differently~ God is showing each of us where our selfishness and self centeredness lie. We are not without sin. Not without pride and certainly not without the tendency to be self focused. We truly want to only focus on what God wants for our family...and the enemy is all too eager to disrupt that.
All that to say, it is exciting! It is joy, hope, love, peace and so much more. To be in a place where you know God is working and you know He is speaking to you...is really a gift. The refining isn't the most fun we have ever had but we know that on the other end of this growth it will be wonderful!
* As is Jeremiah 32... we ask for a singleheartedness as a couple with God as we make a decision about adding to our family
38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
*We ask for our desires to be those of God! That the desires of our hearts would be the desires that God himself has placed there not those of our flesh.
1 Peter 4:1-2 Living for God
4 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
In all of it... we are trusting God for the direction, provision and timing of how He will build our family! He is Good!