He is Faithful

When we received Calli's referral in late November, I blogged about the first referral we received and had to turn down. If you haven't read about that, you can catch up here. This was a very hard time for us but it was also one of the biggest times in our lives we felt dependence on God and assurance that he had a plan for our family and for this precious child.

We are with three other Lifeline families here in GZ. Yesterday was our medical appointment, and the first time that we were really able to be with the other families and hear their stories. There is one family who brought their two older sons with them and is adopting two little girls from China, ages 1 and 2. Two girls, two different provinces. They have had such the week. With the time we have had, Randy and I just keep looking at each other marveling at this family who has two new babies.

When we were checking in, we had to fill out some paperwork about our child, and one of the questions was what their medical special need was. I heard the dad of one of these two girls saying one of the girls had a skin condition. It just caught my attention because of our first referral, so I started looking at the little girl who was in the carrier on her mom. I mentioned it to Randy, but it was pretty hectic, we were starting to move to the exam rooms and it was a little bit before we were able to talk to the parents. When we did have a few minutes to sit and wait, I asked the mom what her baby's skin condition was. She told me it was EB - same as the little baby we got the referral for first. My heart started racing as I asked her how old she was and what her name was.

It's her.

They were given her file right after we were and they accepted it. They weren't sure, like we weren't sure, how severe the EB would be, but it is still only presenting on her hands and ankles, like it was back in November. It doesn't look to be severe at all.

What in the world are the odds of that??! I know I can't really call her "our baby," but our baby, the referral we struggled to turn down, is here with us, in our group, and most importantly is with her forever family! And we were given the privilege of knowing them, seeing them, and seeing the completion of this story! Praise God!

Out of all the families adopting from China, all the agencies they could be adopting through, and then all the weeks they could have been traveling, they are here with us in our group of four families. Randy and I just keep looking at each other shaking our heads. When we realized this there in the medical office, both of us just broke down crying. I was sitting there, sobbing and hugging her mom, and she kept saying, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I told her, "No! We are so thankful for you! We prayed for you, we have prayed for her, and we prayed that she would have a family because we knew we were not her family! We are so thankful!" And now she is where she should be and Calli is in our family where she should be. God's sovereignty and his goodness overwhelms me.

Amy, how's that for seeing how God used all of that in our story!? Do you remember when you said that to me back when we were hurting so much? He is so faithful and we are so thankful to just be able to watch.

This has been such a reminder to me that "he who began a good work in you will be faithful to bring it to completion" (Phil. 1:6). I was praying this afternoon while Randy and Calli were napping, and God reminded me of this verse. This is hard. I don't really know how to walk these roads, but I can rest knowing that because God began this work in us, he will be faithful to complete it. In us, in Calli, and in our family. This gives me strength, it gives me rest and it gives me great joy to continue walking, even when I can't see much of the road ahead.

Praise you, Father! Thank you for giving this baby a family. Thank you for allowing us to see this part of her story and know that she is in a family forever. Thank you for Calli and that she is ours. I am so thankful for your faithfulness and goodness to us. I love you!