He showed UP!

I have been working on this post for over a month now and before anything else changes, I better just get it out there.  I really wanted to document how God has shown up during this adoption process and just give all of you an update.  We started this process in faith that God would open doors as He saw to open or close them.  We went into this trusting God to be in control and holding it in open hands.  Easier said than done.  Many times I have tried to clutch this process and journey tight and do it in my time and control all of it.  Oh, how I have tried to do this my way.  And many times I've thought I was in control and taking care of everything.  Then I discovered the last piece of paper we had been waiting for in the mail had actually been on my desk for 2 weeks.  Boy, was I mad about that.  Why did we have that paper here for 2 weeks longer than necessary?  No clue.  But I was mad.  At myself and really, kind of at God.  Then I heard Him ask me, "Why do you ask me to take control of this and then get mad at me when I do?"  Ah yes, that.  Even when I have little faith, He is still faithful.  I still don't know why that paper sat there for 2 weeks or why our last notary took an extra week to get notarized.  I do know that God knows and for this moment, that's enough for me.

With that said, here are some of the big ways God has shown up for us and I can't wait to tell you more as they continue to happen.  We started this journey, thinking and praying, just over a year ago and here is how we've seen God move...

•  Right around the time we officially decided to pursue our adoption, God started blessing us through my business.  A year later, He has continually blessed us month after month with just what we need and I honestly cannot wait for the day when I can hand someone a check and say, "Your adoption is covered."

• As we were looking at agencies, we had it narrowed down to 2 that we liked.  We were working on a few things to get started when the coordinator of our orphan care ministry at our church called and said another agency had come across her radar.  This agency kept a shorter waiting list and had recently just cleared it.  We did some research and were very interested but there was an upfront fee of almost $5000.  As we thought and prayed about how to cover this, we sold Peter's car (which we had been trying to sell for a couple months.)  This gave us nearly exactly what we needed for that upfront fee.  Three days later, we got the biggest tax return we have ever received.  I honestly have no idea why we did but I also do know. :)
• In June we started our home study and also had a garage sale that people generously donated to.  The day before the garage sale, I was at a park and met a woman who I ended up chatting with for almost 45 minutes.  In that time I told her about our adoption and also later mentioned we were having a garage sale the next day and pointed in the general direction of our house.  The next morning I was bustling about doing garage sale stuff and as I came out of the house, Peter told me my friend Karen had brought me a coffee.  In my head I was thinking, "Who is Karen?"  I was so moved when I saw my friend from the park the day before.  It was such a blessing that she had taken the time to bless me.  She looked around a bit and found about $5 worth of stuff to buy.  She handed over a $100 bill and said, "I don't need any change."  I teared up then and I do now.  I don't know this woman's last name or even the name of the town in Idaho she was visiting from.  I do know that we were blessed more than just monetarily that day.  I know that God loved us through that woman and her generous giving that day and every time we remember it.
• You know how when you have a garage sale you kind of keep a running total in your head?  Well, during ours, the total in my head was around $400.  When we added up our total at the end of the day, God more than doubled that.  Thank you to the generosity of our friends who donated and those who bought treasures.
• Later that summer I was talking to my friends about my fears and insecurities about sending a letter to friends and family asking for financial support.  It was going to take me laying down my pride to admit that I couldn't do this on my own.  The whole idea was a big step of faith for me.  Peter brought a new perspective to it though.  He felt we should give our friends and family the opportunity to help and that they would want to help.  Well, God proved to me that they do indeed want to help.  Later that same afternoon, before we had even started the letter, let alone sent it to anyone, our neighbors knocked on our door.  They wanted to know if we were accepting donations for our adoption.  Are you kidding me?  It was just what I needed to know that people do indeed want to help.
• Because of that letter, we were able to do the following...As we were getting ready to send our dossier about a month ago, we also needed to send a big chunk of change along with it.  We were about $1600 short in our account at our church.  We had $450 in a paypal account from other donations and as we were working out getting a grant from our church, the church secretary called to let me know that a donation had JUST come in the mail for $500.  I had heard about this sort of thing happening to other people but of course thought that wouldn't need to happen for us because I would have it all figured out.  Ahem. 
 

We are humbled and so grateful for everyone's support, financially and prayerfully and just kind words.  We are thankful for how God is working through us and if you'd like to be a part of this, there is a link on the right to donate through.  If you'd like to contribute a tax deductible donation, contact me at naomi.rae.8 at gmail dot com and I'll get you the necessary information.  Thank you, so much.