March was tough. The whole "In like a lion, out like a lamb" thing totally pertained to March this year. We had a rainy...RAINY... March. It messed up our soccer practices and games. It delayed our landscaping plans. And, I thought Mary Poppins was going to float in for Tate's soccer games yesterday. I actually think I still hear the wind today. However, this 31st day was beautiful. bEAUTIFUL! Not a cloud in the sky.
Beautiful temperatures.
And, today was our boys' visa appointments at the Embassy in Port-Au-Prince.
I got that crazy call that every adoptive parent dreams of this afternoon. It went something like this:
Kristi: "Kelly, I have some good news!"
Me (thinking I was just going to hear that the visa appointment went well): "Okay?"
Kristi: "God's Littlest Angels has proposed travel dates of April 7-10th!"
Me (After I picked my jaw up off the floor, screamed a silent scream, and was quickly brought back into earth time when I saw a cop radaring people): " You mean, MONDAY?! WHOA!"
I immediately threw myself into scramble mode:
Where do I put my kids?!
What do I do with all this garage sale stuff in the middle of my dining room?!
How am I going to check our soccer team into the tournament?!
Is it too late to hire someone to deep clean my house?!
I wonder if I can make 20 more freezer meals before we go!
Man! I need orphanage gifts!
Naomi needs a tea party dress...
Wait! I still have a dog! What am I going to do with the dog while we are gone?
It rolls on...
...the internal monologue rolls on.
Interestingly enough, when God ushers you into something new, it's usually scary, and Satan would be remiss to resist an attack considering our potential weakness. I am always careful to blame Satan for something that God might be using to refine me, however, after Pastor Steven's preaching on Crashing the Chatterbox, I'm more aware. For instance, MY GOD will never use my painful past to cause me to question my future. MY GOD is FOR ME! He will not bring my past up in order to well guilt up in me. I learned that He will ALWAYS guide me through my past by gently taking my hand and saying, "Kelly, we've got some work to do. Let's do this together." After God and I have worked through these things together, it's not my job to allow someone to try to drag me back into it. I can ignore that accusatory voice because it is NOT OF GOD. Satan, THE ACCUSER, comes to steal, kill and destroy. JESUS has come that we may have life to the full. I owe no explanation to man for what God has called me into or away from.
God has prepared me mentally for this season by the amazing teaching I receive Sunday in and Sunday out by my pastor, Steven Furtick. God has prepared me by ushering me into this fast. Kristin and I quickly learned that God was honoring my obedience by speeding me toward the finish line of this three year marathon we like to call "adoption." After I became aware that God was going to finish this thing, I became confident in Him. My faith was made stronger. I felt confident enough to pay for soccer camps for the boys this summer in June. I stepped out in faith and signed them up. After that exercise in faith, I bought tickets to our soccer club's new professional team's first home game May 16th. I bought 7 tickets, sure that the boys would be home by then. He honored all of that.
I'm sure God is teaching and refining Kristin as well, but I'm simply blessed to have a friend who would sharpen me and nudge me toward Gods calling. I needed my friend to finish this race with me. It's humbling to me to know that she went through this Beyond Vegan thing with me AGAIN to hold me up. Tonight, I wanted to celebrate with a toast...just one glass of wine. I asked The Man what he thought, and I got mad when he told me I should hold to the fast. Now that I have, I'm glad I did, because it's just one way I can honor my friend who sacrificed in order to usher me in to God's wide open arms.
Two ARE better than one.
Yes.
When one falls down, the other will lift him up.
Thanks, honor and praise be to the Father to the Fatherless.
He is absolutely relentless.
His love is absolutely relentless.
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