A Lesson in Trust

Let me preface this by saying that God has not told us who our child is yet, but here is a little bit of what was happening here in the Smith household last month:

On November 2nd, I was up late working on calligraphy pieces and felt lead to take a look at our adoption agency's "Waiting Children" list, although I was sure that there was probably not any new children on this list. But when I opened it, there was a sweet, sweet little girl in need of a home. I immediately ran upstairs to show Todd. We read over what little information was written on her and we both quickly decided that we would like more information on this adorable baby. So I emailed our adoption agency and the next morning, we received an email full of medical information on the baby girl and they also let us know that multiple other families had requested her information and after us, they were not allowing anyone else to pursue her.

Through several situations that were very apparently orchestrated by God, Todd and I looked over her file and dropped it off with our pediatrician to give us his opinion on if we would be able to handle her needs as she grows up.

Without going into too much detail, she had the possibility of a condition that could be very serious and scary. And after much prayer and counsel, Todd and I still felt lost, even after a week of solid prayer. I finally prayed that God would speak through someone else, because our hearts were so conflicted. Well the next day we received a text from a very dear friend and relative that pretty much said "God wanted me to tell you that there is no reason to fear. God is her protector. We should feel at peace with saying 'no' and knowing that God will provide her with a beautiful, loving family and we should be able to be at peace with saying 'yes' and knowing that if God places her in our family, she will be a blessing and not a burden." With tears in our eyes, Todd and I so clearly felt God's hand on our family and confidently decided to tell our adoption agency that we would like to be considered as the family for this sweet girl.

James 1:3 was one of the verses God gave me during this long, tiring week of seeking His will.

There was one other family being considered and after filling out a stack of paperwork on how our family would adjust to bringing a new child into our home and especially one with the needs she may have, we started our wait. A couple weeks later (the day before thanksgiving to be exact), we got a call from our adoption agency letting us know that the other family had been selected as the family to adopt this child. Although we had to adjust our plans that had started to form for our family, we could not get over the overwhelming peace that The Lord had given us. Peace that this sweet girl found her family and that our baby is still out there. We do not know the big picture reason that God had us pursue this beautiful little girl, but we did learn alot about trust and that may be the only thing we ever know about this situation. But through it all, we give Him praise. God has a perfect child for us and we so look forward to the day we receive the news that we are matched!

Thanksgiving consisted of being thankful for the fact that God is a father to the fatherless and He is the powerful protector of our little one.

December Update

This past month has been a whirlwind of craziness! With traveling multiple times, working on homestudy stuff, so many calligraphy orders, and 2 super fun calligraphy parties... our bodies are tired, but our hearts are so full!!

One friday night, Madilynn stayed with Mimi and Pop while Todd and I stained over 20 pieces of wood for calligraphy order and completed our required 10 hours of adoption training! This was a HUGE item marked off of our homestudy list!

These nativity pieces have been SO popular! If I had to tell you one thing that November consisted of, it would be these!! I love the idea that all of these families will take these pieces out every year to decorate for Christmas and will think about our sweet baby and be able to pray for them as they grow!!

They take so much time that I started recruiting help whenever I could get it! Haha. (Several people not pictured: Mimi, Beth Palmer, Emily Geyer, Aunt Sissy, Mamaw) 

Sadly, these are sold out this year, but we may bring them back in 2017! ;)

Also, our new passports came in!!!! Another thing checked off of our to do list! 

 Then , we had 2 calligraphy parties and they were so incredibly fun!! I have some super talented friends, if I do say so myself!! ;) Several people have requested another night, so be on the lookout for another calligraphy night in the spring!

This month was busy, but oh so good! We also had a big event happen regarding a sweet korean baby, but I will save that for it's own post (hopefully in the next few days). This baby ended up not being ours, but was most definitely a huge part of our story!

A quick numbers update:

Y'all!! God has provided almost $5,000 in ONE MONTH! 

Once we reach our largest goal of $22,500, we will be able to accept a child at any time! And we are almost there!!!

At church tonight, the main verse we discussed says it all: "For nothing will be impossible with God" Luke 1:37

Total we are at $23,418 (out of $50,000), which means we are almost HALFWAY to our TOTAL GOAL!