Our family made a trip to Little Rock over Memorial Day weekend. We had been planning the trip for months and had a very cram packed schedule ahead of us; literally all of our time was accounted for, from the moment we arrived Friday night until we left on Monday afternoon. It was quite the whirlwind trip!
Friday night, after some carsick puking from Jubilee along the way, we made it to my grandpa's house in Little Rock (where we were staying for the weekend). My sister Courtney, her husband Mike, my nephews Cash and Rush, and also my Dad met us there and we had dinner together. When Courtney and her crew left for the night, she took Amos and Lincoln to her house for a sleepover with her boys. I know they had a big time, as I was getting the most adorable pictures the following morning of them eating a picnic style breakfast in their living room.
Saturday morning the rest of us were up bright and early for my niece Ashli's high school graduation.
We attended the ceremony (which lasted about two hours) and afterward Robby took the kids to his sister Kim's (where they continued the graduation fun) and I met up with my best friend Calley, who'd driven up from Louisiana with her kiddos for the weekend. It was a full day of nothing but FUN for just she and I! We shopped (a lot), we ate sushi at Igibon, we went out for cupcakes and coffee, and just had the best time.
Sunday came and my sister and I prepped for our grandpa's 90th birthday celebration at a local restaurant. It was a roaring 20s theme and many people dressed the part. We decorated ahead of time and my dad picked up the cake. After everyone arrived we chatted, ate, sang "Happy Birthday", and had cake. It was a good time and my grandpa loved it. He is such a wonderful man and I am incredibly blessed to call him my "Papaw". My Mamaw passed away almost two years ago, but I know that she would have really loved the party too. We all missed her being there, but are so glad that grandpa is with us at 90! What an accomplishment!
After the party Sunday evening we drove straight to Benton to visit friends. Then we returned to my grandpa's and went to bed. We were exhausted! Late Monday morning I had lunch with one of my closest friends, Pat, who used to be our neighbor when we lived in Benton for five years. We visited and had Mexican food and then she followed me back to my grandpa's so that she could see the kids before we left town. They were so happy to see her!
After that we said our goodbyes, packed up, and headed back home to NW Arkansas. We arrived in just enough time to unload, cook and eat supper, and get to bed for some much needed sleep!
Before I end this blog post, I want to backtrack a bit to something that happened while we were gone. A couple of weeks prior to the trip, I felt God talk to me about sowing seed. In order to have mine and my family's own needs met, it's vital to pour out our very best into other's needs. Knowing how big the bill is for adoption, Robby and I decided to take all of the money that we'd raised and put into savings since our last payment and give it to someone else who needed it. We wrote a check for $1,210.00 that drained our savings. Going into this, we fully believed that we would see a huge return on this seed toward the money needed to bring our daughter home from Latin America. Over the weekend, I was able to give that check to a family that needed it for their own adoption process. It was beautiful to see how amazed they were at God's graciousness and perfect timing. Now I normally would never, ever post about something like that because I believe those things should be done in private, so as not to bring myself any kind of glory. However, I feel as though it is a vital part of the huge picture and that what I'm about to share doesn't have the same impact without that element.
Once that financial seed was sown, we started once again at zero. Our home study is due any time now and immediately after it is finalized we have to pay the following:
- $3,231.25 to our agency
- Approximately $900 to USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services)
- $250 to a psychologist for a required evaluation
As you can see, that is a good chunk of change, but we haven't been afraid of how we'll come up with it. That's for God to handle. We are ready and willing to do whatever He requires, however we know that we have exhausted most avenues in raising money. I continuously remind myself that God alone is our Source. The money will come. Typically it takes a decent amount of time to see the return on a sown seed, but we believe that God is more than able to take care of everything in perfect timing.
About eight hours after handing the check over to one friend, I was seeing another friend for a brief visit. We sat down to chat and a few minutes into our conversation, she handed me a large manila envelope that said, "For: Lene". She explained, "I know this might seem weird, but my husband and I have been praying a lot about Lene coming home. We prayed this week that some things would fall into place so that we could do something specific for her, and they did." She motioned for me to open the envelope and when I did, some keys fell out into my hand. Then she continued, "We had our vehicle for sale for a month, but it didn't sell. When we were praying about how to help out with your adoption, we felt God tell us not to sell it, but instead to give it to you. The title and a bill of sale are in there and it's worth $5,000 to $6,000; we want you to do with it whatever God lays on your heart."
I was speechless. How does one react to that? Not only was this couple being almost crazily obedient to God (as if that is even possible) and giving us something of great value to them, but immediately I recognized that at that moment- mere hours after we'd sown our best available seed into someone else's adoption- we were seeing the return we fully believed was coming! THAT fast! I was baffled at God's timing and at His creativity in meeting our need. I mean, wow, I wasn't expecting that at all. Long story short, we drove that vehicle home and it is now sitting in our driveway, waiting to be put up for sale.
Friends, we so often hear the phrase "God is faithful", but do we really know what that means?
It means that God isn't a liar.
He will do what His Word says He will do. If we will shed our fear and step out in faith, actually believing Him, He will not leave us hanging. He will heal us, He will deliver us, He will rescue us, He will take care of our financial and material needs, He will send people to love on us, He will fulfill the desires deep within our hearts. He is REAL. He is ALIVE. And He wants to move mountains for you, so that you can stand back in awe of His goodness. He wants to love you in ways that you have never known was possible.
He will do it, if you'll take a bold step- do something uncomfortable and audacious- and not doubt that He is going to meet that boldness with something even bolder and more astonishing.
That is who God is. That is what He so longs to do.
Don't be afraid to let go and give God a real, good reason to move on your behalf. He delights in that kind of faith; without it, we aren't pleasing to Him. Go ahead and do something that "challenges" Him and I guarantee you that if you'll stand and wait, believing that He will come through for you, you will see miracles.
I am still believing to see so much greater.
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