"I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out - plans to give you a future you hope for. When you call on me when you come and pray to me I’ll listen. When you come looking for me you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed." Jeremiah 29:11 (Msg)
There is a quote that I recently read that states "Be assured that if God waits longer than you wish, it is to make the blessing all the more precious." Oh has that become so real in my life as we wait for the time in which we will bring our Emily home. As I reflected on this time of waiting over this past weekend I have been amazed at how God has worked in my heart over these extended months of waiting. The depth to which he has purified my heart is beyond words and I feel that as each day passes He continues to prepare me for what He has in store. As I have been drawn deeper into Him I have caught a glimpse of just how impure my heart is and how much more like Christ I should be. As I read the verse above in Jeremiah I was overwhelmed by the richness and truth of The Message translation which says "when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed." God longs to give us the desires of our hearts but I discovered that I needed to become "serious" about longing for Him. And as I pressed into my Lord, He has begun a work in my heart that has allowed me to see life as He sees it. He does not just see today or even tomorrow, He sees the entire picture and it is in seeing the completed masterpiece that He allows us to wait so that we are ready to receive His blessing. I love it when I can see my relationship with God mirrored in my relationships with my children. It is like a heavenly "word picture." I have thought about how I long to give Cody and Grace every desire of their heart because I love them so much and want them to be happy however, I know that there are some things they simply should not have and then there are others for which they are not prepared. Being their mom, I am able to see a bigger picture and often times I wait until they are ready to receive something they so desperately want. Right now His blessing for our family is Emily but He longs to give me much more than my daughter and as I have waited I walk each day in awe of the treasures He has for me along the path of my daily journey. He has expanded my love for Emily in ways that I could have never imagined. A love created by Him that I know is designed perfectly to meet all the needs she will have when she enters our family. God continues to draw our family together creating deeper bonds between me, Mike, Cody and Grace which again I am confident is designed to fashion an atmosphere in our home which will be best for Emily. And so I continue to wait patiently and excitedly for that day in which I, our family and Emily are fully prepared to be united.
Our hope of traveling before the Chinese New Year on February 18th was not fulfilled in that there was a new document requirement which needed to be completed before our Travel Approval was issued. As of today, January 29, 2007 this document has been in China for one week therefore we are expecting our travel documents to arrive within the next week. This will allow us to be scheduled for travel with our agency’s next group at the beginning of March. I give thanks that I will be afforded the extended time to prepare for our 2 week travel as well as preparing emotional from being away from Cody and Grace for that long period of time. Both Cody and Grace have expressed anxiousness over our being gone for such a long time. This has ached my heart and I even re-considered our decision of not taking them however, I realized that because they are so young and do not travel well it would make an already difficult trip more complicated. I pray that as we have this additional time, God will use it to bring comfort and peace to Cody and Grace while granting Mike and I special moments in time to pour into them our love so that they are full to capacity upon our departure for China.
I have been so touched by the words of encouragement shared by so many of you in our guest book and thank you for your faithfulness in thinking of us and praying for us as we draw near to the most exciting part of our journey. I will be sure to update each of you who have signed our guest book of our travel itinerary so that if you want to check in with us while we are in China you can do so. So until that time may the Lord bless you and keep you in the palm of his hand.