Twists and Turns

Life is unpredictable. You don't need to live long to realize that. It's especially unpredictable when a person chooses to live a life in obedience to God. When you walk in His footsteps, the path can be steep, unsteady, even dark and scary at times. But the amazing thing is that this amazing God of ours has walked the same path Himself. He knows where it leads and will walk with us all the way.

We know a few families who are in process of adopting children from Haiti. When you adopt a child, there is an instant network of friends you get to be a part of. Doesn't matter the country. So, we've been following their path just like they followed ours.

One friend in particular (they're listed under my blog list as "great adventures") had hoped their son would be home this past spring. But delay upon delay upon frustrating delay kept him in Haiti much longer than they had imagined. In the meantime, they began the process to adopt a little girl as well. The earthquake hit. Unimaginable fear and loss and anxiety. Their children are safe; yet so many are not.

Their path has taken a sudden, unexpected, beautiful turn. As God knew all along, those 2 kids are arriving into Miami today to be united with their new family. They had hoped their son would have been home by now, they knew their daughter was at least a year away; and now they'll all be together today! It is a breath of fresh air to see this kind of joy come out of all the devasation.

They, along with so many others, are on my heart today. The anticipation is almost too much to imagine. I pray their transition is a smooth one.

I also pray for the countless children around the world who are living life with a much different path than mine.

Anyone Else?

Is anyone else out there ready for spring yet? Anyone sick of the slop and cold and wet socks? How about the stinky smelling gloves and hats and mittens that never seem to get quite dry enough? The garage floor that is a brownish yucky mess?

I am ... I'm sick of it already and it's only the beginning of January.

I'm thinkin it's going to be a looong winter.

It's 2010!

Happy 2010 bloggers!

In some ways, it's hard to believe 2009 is done and gone. In other ways, it feels like it lasted forever! 2009 was a really "long" year for our family. I know each year has exactly 365 days in it, but in my life, some years seem to last longer than others. 2009 was a long one. It had more peaks and valleys than any other year I can remember. The mountain tops were brighter, but the valleys were darker.

We overcame some pretty big challenges, and are still waiting on the Lord to move in some others. We added another child to our family, and learned first hand that following God's promptings really does result in immeasurable joy. We struggled through a challenging economy, just like so many of you. In 2009 I learned what fear looks like, feels like, even tastes like and I also learned right along with it what it means to have strength and courage; and more importantly where it comes from. This year I saw injustice like I had only read about before.

There have been nights in 2009 that I've fallen into bed, with tears running down my cheeks so thankful for the amazing blessings I've been given. I've woken up some mornings not really feeling like getting out of bed to "do it all again". I've asked myself lots of questions ... like what am I supposed to be doing with my days, am I really making a difference to anyone, and all those questions I seem to ask when life gets mundane.

Yup ... there have been highs and lows and lots of days in between. And the best part has been, that I've never been alone. And I won't be in 2010 either. So, here's to another year!