Stepping Out on Faith

I was talking with a friend today who was asking simple questions about our upcoming trip:

How old is he?
What are his special needs?
Does he sleep in a crib or bed?
What does it look like when you receive him?
When on Sunday (they changed the Gotcha Day to the 10th!) will you get him?

The answer to pretty much most questions I get is a simple, "We don't know."  And then you get the polite but surprised, "Oh!"  You can almost see the wheels turning in people's heads...how do you not know any of this?  To be honest, we really have no idea what’s about to happen.  By that I mean we have a plane tickets and our hotel reservations, but know that even those may change depending upon the situation. But that's it...everything is fluid and subject to change. And we are totally okay with that.

A few years ago, had I been told I would be traveling  to a country that I have never visited to pick up a child that I have never met that may or may not have mild to severe hearing loss, some pretty intense emotional scars, and some unknown medical needs, and that I wouldn't get to really know the details of our trip, I would have fallen over in shock.  I tend to be a little Type A, and planning brings me comfort. But God has completely blown all of that out of the water these past few years with our Ladybug's journey and now with our adoption story.

Of course my personality hasn't changed. But God has been bending and stretching my faith, which translates to appearing to be laid back and flexible.  But the Lord has brought me this incredible peace in His sovereignty and control over the situation. It seems He has finally gotten it through my thick head that His plans are so much bigger than my own plans, and so much better!  For now at least, I have learned to hand over the planning to Him. It’s like handing over a paintbrush to an artist, knowing your mural is going to turn out far better than you could have ever imagined in his hands rather than your own.

Instead of feeling nervous about the complete unknown, I find myself so excited to see how God is about to work.  He is about to do something absolutely amazing, and I get a front row seat.

And so... we leave in 3 days. We leave behind the life we have come to know as a family of 3. We leave behind our country, language, customs, and laws to enter into a situation that would be insane even if it were happening here in the U.S.  All of our struggles up to this point have been purposely woven together as a part of the big picture, and I can’t wait to get a small glimpse of that picture this week.  I know this is only the beginning.

Prayers for our Panda, as his world is about to be ripped from him and replaced with something foreign and seemingly terrifying. Cars, planes, parents, being outside in the sunlight. ALL NEW.

Prayers for Ladybug as her world as she knows it is about to shift forever.

Prayers for my health through the stress and change.

Prayers for the Duke as he discovers being a father to a son who isn’t biologically his.


"...he who is blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion.  Amen."  1 Tim 6:15-16

Man, that is the God that I serve! Needless to say, He's got this. Next post will be from China!! (There will be a separate folder you can click on where I will put detailed updates called The China Trip.)