God whispers

God is SO good at the art of encouragement. As I've said before, I have times where I start trusting in my own power to make it through mothering two new babies. He lovingly and mercifully sends me little messages throughout each day to remind me, yet again, that HE is the One who will provide all that I need to do what He has purposed for me. The only requirement on my part is, to LISTEN for his little whisperings throughout each day, and TRUST that He will enable me to do immeasurably more than all I've asked or imagined (Eph. 3:20).

One day, as I was reading a daily devotional (My Utmost for His Highest), and the reading was absolutely aimed at encouraging me. It was a lesson on Abraham. He "went out, not knowing where he was going" (Heb. 11:8). The devotional goes on to say: 'There is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. (i.e., WHY are you adopting two babies?) One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, "What do you expect to do?" You don't know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. God never tells you what He is going to do. He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you "go out" in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?' God has told Kevin and I to "go" to Ethiopia and bring back two of his dearly beloved babies and provide them with a loving, Christian home. Dare we not be obedient?

On another day, I attended a ladies' fellowship at my church. We watched a video entitled "Reclaiming God's Plan for Women", featuring Above Rubies' founder, Nancy Campbell. The entire segment was about adoption! Apparently, she is very active in facilitating adoptions for the orphans in Liberia. Her own daughter, Serene, who already had four children of her own (and was pregnant with the fifth, I believe), felt God's calling to adopt from Liberia. They had chosen two children to adopt. Serene stayed in the US while her husband travelled to Liberia to pick up the children. While he was there, he fell in love with another baby, and called her up and asked if she would consider adopting her, too. Serene agreed. But, when the husband and three children were about to leave Liberia, they discovered that the two siblings had a fifteen year old sister in need of adoption, too. "What do we do now, God?", she asked herself. "I am only 29 years old and my oldest child is only 7. How can I adopt a teenager? I'm only a young mother. I can't possibly...."

Well, the end of the story is: Serene and her husband adopted all four children and they doubled their family overnight. She once had four small children; they doubled their family size to 8 immediately. She now says that she couldn't imagine her life without them all. What an encouragement to a mother (ME) who is contemplating the ability to mother two more. :) There is no way that Serene could accomplish the task of mothering without reliance on and the empowerment from her Heavenly Father.

Thank you, Father, for always having the right words at the right time!