OUR PLANS MULTIPLIED: Last New

OUR PLANS MULTIPLIED

In the beginning, JD adamantly only wanted two children. I thought that four would be perfect. Once we caught God's vision of putting orphans into families, our plan was multiplied by God. We are currently blessed with 12 children; five biological, six adopted and one more waiting in Ethiopia. Our first adoption was from the U.S., the next three were from Liberia, West Africa, and our last two were from Ethiopia. We are supporting our 12th child in Ethiopia after her adoption could not pass court.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Last New

Against all odds, I am heading out tomorrow for a new city that I've never been to - San Francisco. It literally seems that if I plan to leave my clan, I am asking for exceptional drama. This week has plagued our family with a serious child challenge and we are just praying our way through. I heard someone talk one time on how easy it is for people to begin well and how hard it is to end well. No one walks down the aisle to get married thinking of divorce court. No one holds a tiny new baby at the hospital and imagines conflict with that child that breaks communication with the family. Adoption is also full of hope, but the reality of day to day parenting children that suffered serious neglect and abuse years before they became your child often takes a toll. I have been deep in testing and therapy to try and find hope for situations that appear quite dim to me in the hours that I'm tired and weak. For me, the lowest moments are when I start to lose hope; hope is a powerful emotion.

So, tomorrow I leave the craziness behind physically, but can not escape emotionally. I pray to return Monday with renewed vigor, ideas and hope. If you think to pray for the crew while I am away, I am quite sure that my sister would appreciate it!