Those are the only words that come to our mind at this time. Our God is so truly amazing. As you were all about to wake up this morning our family was headed to our appointment to begin the adoption process on this side of the world. Your prayers were such a blessing to us today. We arrived at our appointed time and met with those in charge of our case. They were so kind to us and so very professional. I was very impressed. I could not imagine the responsibility that they bear considering that they are the first step for so many children to be placed into homes. They handled their job with grace, professionalism and deep responsibility. The visit went very well. We talked for several minutes and they had reviewed our case and all was well. We were approved and given permission to travel to the region where Petya is located to begin step 2. I am not at liberty to tell entirely what has occurred, but I feel I must tell you that God has truly came before us and made our path straight. God has laid the foundation for our family and even our facilitator was taken back by everything. He was most pleased at the final outcome of today’s events and these events occurred in such a manner that it was evidenced that God was working in our lives in a powerful way. To our Heavenly Father, the Father to the Fatherless, the God Who Sees, the God that knows our names – to Him and Him alone be glory and honor for the work that He did today. My words are not eloquent enough to fully describe how truly amazing He is. Can I tell you that all these many years of waiting were for a purpose and a completeness that only an Eternal God could foresee. Can I tell you that He has remained faithful to me even in the times that I doubted His devotion and care for me and also for my family. Can I tell you that the waiting was not in vain and that a commitment that God makes is NOT a commitment that is broken. God has been so very good to us today and we just want to praise Him for this moment. We have been reading Beth Moore’s Believing God and there is a lesson from that text that spoke volumes to us and I would like to share a summary of it with you. There is a story in the book of Samuel where God had done amazing things for the prophet and the children of Israel. To mark the event Samuel placed a stone between two places, Mizpah and Shen, and now our family is located between two places as well. The scripture records Samuel’s actions, “He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far has the LORD helped us’” (I Sam. 7:12) The name Ebenezer means “stone of help” and this stone was to be a visual reminder of God’s help to the children of Israel. Tomorrow we are returning back to the area where the appointment was held and we plan to take a stone from that area to bring back home with us as a reminder of the help that we received from God today. It can truly be said that “Thus far the LORD helped me.” in our family tonight. The last thing I want to share with you are some of the words to a hymn that we often sing, and to be honest, one that I did not fully understand until today. Come Thou Fount…
Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by They good pleasure,
Safely to arrived at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy grace, Lord like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
