He's Coming HOME!

Yesterday I came to a breaking point. I do not know if it was the fact that Jamesy turned 15 months old while still being in an institution. Or if it it was the fact that it had been 50 days since I kissed him goodbye and the insanity of what I had done really sunk in. What kind of mommy leaves her child an ocean away?? Or maybe it was the knowledge that we had accepted his referral a half a year ago, and seen his face for the first time 7 months ago? Maybe it was the email saying that yet again he had an ear infection and was being given a very strong dosage of antibiotic injections.

Maybe it was everything combined.

I leaned hard on friends and family yesterday and God gave immediate support, comfort and encouragement from most of them. I cannot ever express my thankfulness for those people who have walked inside the pain with us and not shied away from the hurt that surrounds adoption. I know it made me hard to be around, hard to talk to, probably hard to relate to, but to those of you that ignored that and just did it - thank you. For the friends that called and called and called and emailed and texted not letting me walk this alone - thank you. Thank you for pursuing me, sharing in the pain, even when all I wanted was to stay distant and do this alone because it just hurt so much. I now know that this is exactly what I needed in my life during this past year. God put exactly the right people in my life at the right time, and this journey is just as much theirs as it is ours. Thank you. You know who you are and your rewards will be great in heaven. Thank you for being sensitive to the Spirit's leading on my behalf - for pursuing me even when I repelled. YOU got your hands dirty for the glory of God, and changed my life - my family's life because of it.

And now for the news!

Yesterday, I felt in my heart that it was just time to go. So did Jim. I wrestled with whether God wanted me to rest in the wait or get up and fight for my child. If it were Cadi or Scotty "trapped" in Africa, I would not just sit here passively waiting. And I felt it was time to fight for Jamesy. The thought of what that meant was scary, and I wavered and grew nervous. But ultimately we set a plan in motion. Jim and I decided that we would press our agency to book us a visa appointment with Embassy in earnest. This means we could possibly have an appointment with no Embassy clearance. We could travel to Ethiopia and be stuck if the clearance did not come and unable to go to the appointment. We decided that if our agency could get us an appointment we would risk it, as they thought we would be cleared by Monday at the latest.

Last night we shared only with our small group, family, and our yahoo group our intentions to fly on faith. We decided to plea to God one last time for the best case scenario - clearance today AND an appointment next week. It was a long shot as previous Embassy appointments have not been scheduled for two plus weeks out once clearance came. We posted on facebook just the plea for prayer for what we were considering our best case scenario.

This morning at 9:12 AM - we got the call. We are cleared AND have a US Embassy appointment on Tuesday (Monday night while you sleep)!! My baby is coming HOME where he belongs in a FAMILY - where every single orphan belongs for that matter. God once again answered our cries in a mighty, amazing, humbling way. He heard the cries of this mommy desperate for her family to be WHOLE. He has taught me so much about stepping out in faith and obedience this past year. It's hard to believe it has just been one year since our hearts were pricked. I sit here a completely changed woman, excited to bring Jamesy Yonas home, and excited to see what amazing future plans God has for our family. Life here on earth is so, so short, we might as well live it abundantly, recklessly, radically! We can rest in heaven someday, and in my dreams I can see Jim and I at the feet of Jesus surrounded by children of every color from every nation. I believe adoption just might be our mission field.

Ephesians 3:20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

And to God, the author, the finisher of my faith and this adoption who has for now - blessed me with these.

All glory to God,