Tonight I was scrolling down my Facebook feed, and the faces of so many lonely children flooded my page.
Pictures of the abandoned,
the hurting,
the sick,
and I was just overwhelmed by the inequity of it all.
Two short months ago, our precious daughters were alone and hurting.
They were waiting and wondering and hoping for something so basic that the rest of us take it for granted.
They were longing for a family.
But now they’re home, and somehow that makes all the difference in the world.
The girls have grown and healed in amazing ways since they have come home. They are growing and bonding and learning the language in leaps and bounds. They have brothers and sisters, the best medical care available, and a mom and dad who love them.
And we are the ones who are blessed.
I’m not sure what direction to take this blog from here.
When I started it, I longed to adopt internationally and connect with others who had adopted.
The blog did that. I have friends all over the world who have blessed our lives and grown our faith.
Then, when we stepped out in faith to adopt, it was my desire to share God’s story in our lives for HIS glory. God has given me an ability to express my thoughts and feelings with clarity and emotion, and it was and still is my desire to use this gift for Him.
I have purposefully tried to share the emotional ups and downs of adopting in order to lift the veil of secrecy and the fear associated with older child adoptions. I have shared some of the struggles we have experienced as we have chosen to love these hurting and wounded young girls. And I hope, that I have clearly shared the joys as well because they far outweigh the difficulties or the sacrifices.
But there is one who wanted to make our lives harder in the midst of this period of loving and adjusting to our newest daughters.
We live in a world where Honey Boo Boo Mom can give her daughter highly caffeinated beverages in order to stimulate her into such a hyperactive state that she is more able to wow the audiences, and that can be spread all over national television with no question about her ability to parent, but a mom of many who has daily chosen to love her children and homeschool them is questioned.
There is much spiritual warfare in adoption and orphan care. God did many miracles in our family as He has done in many of yours. This blog stands to speak of God’s ability to bring the children home. It documents God’s activity in the world today. It stands as evidence that when we step out in faith to serve as He Himself served, He will move mountains on our behalf.
And nothing would make Satan any happier than for me to take it down.
But I will stand in faith, just as many have before me, and continue to declare God’s miraculous power in a world that desperately needs to hear it.
I will continue to love the orphans and plead their cause on my blog for as long as God enables me to for His glory. I will trust Him to guide the direction of this blog.
If any of you would like more information on these precious children whose biggest need is a family, please message me or leave a comment.
If any of you have questions or would like me to share about a certain aspect of our lives or the adoption process, please ask me.
And to the one who wanted to hurt us, I love you. I pray for you daily, and pray that you would come to understand God’s grace in a way you never have before.
Forever in His service,
You ARE blessed and I am grateful that you share those blessings in this very tangible way.
Jennifer P recently posted..Cookies For The Cast Party
You have been blessed in so many ways, and we were too! Hard to believe that in 18 days, we saw our daughters face for the very first time after 5.5 yrs of waiting. Have a very Merry Christmas!!
I don’t know what’s been going on but please, please don’t stop posting!! I check several times a day to see if you’ve updated. 🙂 Yours is the blog most of all that encourages me to keep praying that my dear husband’s heart would become open to adoption. Watching G-d help you bring your daughters home and seeing them blossom, even with all the hard times, has been a beautiful thing! I hope you’ll continue to share it with us.
My heart aches for those little ones too. I would love it they could all be mine, truly.
I’m going to step up my prayers for you. You are remarkable parents and God is being glorified through your journey.
I was looking at the girls and thought, “They don’t even look the same.” Just look what God has done!
Mark and Diane,
It saddens me to hear of the opposition you have. I could say many things about that situation, but no doubt you have thought the same things and have determined to honor God by praying from that person or persons that are presenting opposition.
As an adopting Dad who is greatly anticipating the arrival of our two 13-year-old girls from China, I would appeal to you to continue to post as you did previously. Your directness, transparency and honesty are an encouragement to us who are and will be experiencing similar blessings and challenges.
Tammy and I appreciate your writing. We placed a link to your blog on our website so that others may be mutually encouraged as well. If you choose to use another vehicle to detail those things that won’t be totally ‘public’ please let us know.
My gift of writing is, at best, in development. But Lord willing, once we have our girls I/we would like to write and share with others about our journey and how God is writing His story in our lives. You have been inspirational to us in that regard.
Keep fighting the good fight. Don’t let the dogs get you down.
2 Cor. 4:7-9
Grace to you,
jim and tammy schaubroeck
Hi Diane,
You don’t know me, but I started following your blog right after you brought home your girls, and I just love reading your posts. I don’t normally post on blogs, but I wanted you to know you have a reader in Alaska who is always encouraged by your posts (my hubby and I plan to adopt sometime in the future). Thanks for being willing to stand up and do something that the world says is hard and crazy…
Regards for posting “Blessed – My Life in God’s Garden”. I reallymay certainly end up being back for much more reading through and commenting in the near future. With thanks, Ruby
http://google.com recently posted..http://google.com