Just a quick follow-up to my last post (so much for not posting again until after the move!):
We have just received word that this precious little girl will not be coming to us tomorrow. It may be next week, or maybe later, or maybe not at all. All I can say is, please pray for her. Her situation is heartbreaking, and I just want to hold her and love her. It is so hard to keep having this postponed.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Mysterious Ways
God's timing... it is beautiful, mysterious, perfect, wise, unexplainable, unfathomable.
Five months ago, we completed our home study for infant foster care. We were all ready to begin caring for a little one, and expected a call any day. But days turned into weeks turned into months, and still nothing. We wondered and waited, and prayed. Then we found out that our own sweet little one was on the way, and we laughingly wondered if we'd get a call for a foster baby the next day. But still nothing.
Now, we are two days away from moving, and it doesn't seem like things could get any busier. I'm spending my days packing up the last boxes (no lifting, don't worry!), taking naps, and trying to stave off the pregnancy nausea that keeps coming back (which I am so thankful for, by the way!).
And this is the wonderful, beautiful, perfect, mysterious time that God has chosen for us to welcome our first foster baby.
We actually got the first call about this little girl about two weeks ago, but due to her circumstances, the date for us to pick her up has been postponed several times. We have heard word yesterday afternoon that it seems Thursday will be the day. Thursday... the day before the closing for our house.
We have prayed about this so much, and wondered how this will work, but never once have we doubted that this is God's will for us, and that it is in His sovereign plan for us to care for this precious little girl. We love her already, even though we've never met her--we don't even know her name!--and we simply cannot wait to pick her up on Thursday.
There is no doubt that this will not be easy. My head spins when I try to imagine how this will all go, especially on the day of the closing. But the Lord's peace pervades, and chases away all the fears and uncertainties, and His words come to us: "My grace is sufficient for you." We don't have to know how all the details will fall into place: we leave that in His hands, confident that the Lord will give us strength and that He will accomplish what concerns us.
Please pray for this sweet little girl. I hope you all understand: I will not be able to give any specifics about her situation or even share her name here, but she needs our prayers, and the Lord knows all the details. Please pray that we will indeed be able to pick her up tomorrow, and that this will not be delayed any longer.
And marvel with us at our Father's amazing, mysterious, unfathomable timing!
Five months ago, we completed our home study for infant foster care. We were all ready to begin caring for a little one, and expected a call any day. But days turned into weeks turned into months, and still nothing. We wondered and waited, and prayed. Then we found out that our own sweet little one was on the way, and we laughingly wondered if we'd get a call for a foster baby the next day. But still nothing.
Now, we are two days away from moving, and it doesn't seem like things could get any busier. I'm spending my days packing up the last boxes (no lifting, don't worry!), taking naps, and trying to stave off the pregnancy nausea that keeps coming back (which I am so thankful for, by the way!).
And this is the wonderful, beautiful, perfect, mysterious time that God has chosen for us to welcome our first foster baby.
We actually got the first call about this little girl about two weeks ago, but due to her circumstances, the date for us to pick her up has been postponed several times. We have heard word yesterday afternoon that it seems Thursday will be the day. Thursday... the day before the closing for our house.
We have prayed about this so much, and wondered how this will work, but never once have we doubted that this is God's will for us, and that it is in His sovereign plan for us to care for this precious little girl. We love her already, even though we've never met her--we don't even know her name!--and we simply cannot wait to pick her up on Thursday.
There is no doubt that this will not be easy. My head spins when I try to imagine how this will all go, especially on the day of the closing. But the Lord's peace pervades, and chases away all the fears and uncertainties, and His words come to us: "My grace is sufficient for you." We don't have to know how all the details will fall into place: we leave that in His hands, confident that the Lord will give us strength and that He will accomplish what concerns us.
Please pray for this sweet little girl. I hope you all understand: I will not be able to give any specifics about her situation or even share her name here, but she needs our prayers, and the Lord knows all the details. Please pray that we will indeed be able to pick her up tomorrow, and that this will not be delayed any longer.
And marvel with us at our Father's amazing, mysterious, unfathomable timing!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Odds and Ends
Please pardon my long absence from this little place... things are going well here, but very busy. There are boxes, boxes everywhere, as we prepare for our move in just a few days. We're almost ready, and very excited!
Our sweet little one seems to be doing very well, and for this we cannot cease to praise our gracious Father. Today I had my 12-week appointment, which at first was rather frightening, as the doctor could not find the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler. After trying in vain for a while, she took me back to the ultrasound room and we took a quick peek-- we were so relieved to see our little one kicking and squirming, and that little heart beating. Apparently, the placenta is in front, and blocking our ability to hear baby's heartbeat until he or she is a bit bigger. We are just so thankful that God has preserved this little one's life thus far.
I will most likely not be able to post any more until after we move, and we will probably not have internet access for the first few days in the new house, so I may not be back here until sometime next week. I can't wait to share some pictures of our new house with all of you.
Until then, dear friends, may God bless you all!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Another peek inside, and other news
Today, we had the joy of taking another peek at the miracle that God is knitting together deep inside of me. We were so thankful to find out that everything is still looking good! And this time, we were actually able to see baby moving around, which was quite a beautiful sight. Baby is only 2.7 centimeters long, but has a fast-beating heart and busy arms and legs. This is all just too amazing for words!
***
Our official "due date" is November 5, if anyone was wondering.
***
In other news (we do seem to have a lot of that these days!), by God's grace, we are planning to move in less than a month! This may come as a surprise to many of you, but we've been working on this for quite some time now. We had been prayerfully considering this move since last year, as the townhouse neighborhood we live in is becoming rather distasteful in many ways: some of the goings-on around here are quite concerning. We do love our home here-- it's been our home since the day we were married, almost 6 years ago-- but we believe the time has come to move on.
Back in January, we noticed a house for sale near by. We thought it looked interesting, so we went to see it. And we fell in love with it right away.
Well, I fell in love with it... Mark, who is decidedly more rational than I, had to think about it and ponder things for a while, before he decided that we could pursue it. So we put our house up for sale, and made an offer on the other house. By God's grace, our offer was accepted, and the Lord sent a buyer for our home much faster than we had expected. Things were a bit uncertain for a while, as there were some major issues with the folks who are buying our house, but the Lord has been so incredibly gracious to us and has worked out every single difficulty we have encountered.
So, we are scheduled for two closings on May 1: Lord willing, the closing for our current home will take place that morning, and then the new home in the afternoon. And no, we're not ready-- we have lots of packing to do!
As for the new house, it is a charming 100-year-old farmhouse with a beautiful yard: plenty of room for gardens and picnics... and I can finally have a clothesline! The house needs some work, but nothing that needs to be done immediately; we can settle in and slowly fix things up. And the house is only 2 miles from my parents', which is wonderful.
The Lord's mercies toward us are abounding, and we praise Him for His faithfulness. We are so utterly undeserving of His blessings, and we marvel at His graciousness. I wish I could express more of what is in my heart, but I am just too full for words these days.
But as always, God's Word says it perfectly:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness...
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities...
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
(from Psalm 103)
***
Our official "due date" is November 5, if anyone was wondering.
***
In other news (we do seem to have a lot of that these days!), by God's grace, we are planning to move in less than a month! This may come as a surprise to many of you, but we've been working on this for quite some time now. We had been prayerfully considering this move since last year, as the townhouse neighborhood we live in is becoming rather distasteful in many ways: some of the goings-on around here are quite concerning. We do love our home here-- it's been our home since the day we were married, almost 6 years ago-- but we believe the time has come to move on.
Back in January, we noticed a house for sale near by. We thought it looked interesting, so we went to see it. And we fell in love with it right away.
Well, I fell in love with it... Mark, who is decidedly more rational than I, had to think about it and ponder things for a while, before he decided that we could pursue it. So we put our house up for sale, and made an offer on the other house. By God's grace, our offer was accepted, and the Lord sent a buyer for our home much faster than we had expected. Things were a bit uncertain for a while, as there were some major issues with the folks who are buying our house, but the Lord has been so incredibly gracious to us and has worked out every single difficulty we have encountered.
So, we are scheduled for two closings on May 1: Lord willing, the closing for our current home will take place that morning, and then the new home in the afternoon. And no, we're not ready-- we have lots of packing to do!
As for the new house, it is a charming 100-year-old farmhouse with a beautiful yard: plenty of room for gardens and picnics... and I can finally have a clothesline! The house needs some work, but nothing that needs to be done immediately; we can settle in and slowly fix things up. And the house is only 2 miles from my parents', which is wonderful.
The Lord's mercies toward us are abounding, and we praise Him for His faithfulness. We are so utterly undeserving of His blessings, and we marvel at His graciousness. I wish I could express more of what is in my heart, but I am just too full for words these days.
But as always, God's Word says it perfectly:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness...
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities...
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
(from Psalm 103)
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