Bragging on God

I'd just like to take a minute to brag on God. I want to be very clear here in saying that He is GOOD! He is at work in our lives in ways that we could have never imagined. He is showing off left and right in providing for this adoption in crazy ways! I truly, wholeheartedly, believe that when we seek His will for our lives, when we listen and follow through on what He wants to do in and through us, He shows up! I have been moved to tears in complete awe and joy more in the past 4 months than EVER before in my life! I have been left speechless because of His presence and blessings more times that I can count! So if there has ever been a doubt in anyone's mind who gets the glory for every blessing in this journey, wonder no more, it is God, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! This has NOTHING to do with us and EVERYTHING to do with Him! He is GOOD!
You know when you have BIG news to share and you almost can't get your words together because words don't seem to do it justice?  That's where I'm at right now. I'm so blown away and in awe of a blessing we received on Saturday afternoon that I truly can't think of adequate words to describe how it's made Joshua and I feel. I think we'd some it up with "Awe". So you're wondering what the heck has left us speechless, right?!....
Well, I went to the mailbox on Saturday with Jude in tow (because if at any point you announce that you're going to get the mail, Jude will quickly shout out, "I wanna go, I wanna go!", like it's a vacation or something, it's cute). After pulling the mail out, I typically stand there in the driveway, sort through it all, and if by chance there happens to be something good in there, non-bill-like, and personal, I always open it up before I even get inside because I'm excited, and clearly lack patients. So I see a handwritten envelope and as I'm walking back up to the garage, Jude following close behind, I open it and pull out a letter with a check. The check is flipped over, so I don't notice the amount on it, and I start reading the letter trying to figure out who it's from. As I start to read, I soon realize that it's from another amazing adopting family that we've never met in person, but that I closely follow through this incredible adoption blogging world! As I'm reading her words of encouragement and her hearts desire to help other adopting families, even in the midst of their own adoption journey, tears are running down my face. I turn over the check and see that it's in the amount of $1,500!!! At this point I start blinking really hard trying to clear the tears from my blurry eyes and thinking that surely I've misread the amount! NO, it's a check from another adopting family, who is also have to come up with crazy amounts of money, written out for $1,500!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! I'm standing still in the middle of our "yard sale waiting, packed full garage" when I hear my tender-hearted Jude say, "Mama, why are you crying?". Try explaining happy tears to a 3 1/2 year old! I told him that God is good, and that a sweet family just helped us get one more step closer to his brother in Ethiopia. Thankfully, that was a good enough answer for him! So I walk in the door and say "Joshua!" apparently with my cry voice. He comes barreling around the corner from the kitchen completely freaked out thinking that Jude has gotten hit by a car or one of us is hurt (so clearly I've learned that I need to come up with a happy cry voice and a sad cry voice because I almost gave him a heart attack!). After I quickly reassure him that Jude is not in fact laying in the middle of the road and I'm just floored by the generosity of people that have never even "met" us as I show him the check- he too starts shaking his head in disbelief with tears in his eyes. I mean seriously, is this not just the way God works?! You'd think at this point, I wouldn't be surprised at the unlikely people and circumstances that He is using to bring our baby home- but it still gets me every time!
So catch this... their one request is that they stay as anonymous givers! While of course I'd love to shout their names from our rooftop in thanks, it doesn't surprise me that this was their desire! And you wanna know why it doesn't surprise me one bit that they had this one request?... Because they clearly display in their lives their heart to give God all the glory and brag on Him as well! I love that! We know that God used them to bless us and we know that God will bless them in return!
Amazing, right?! Well, that puts us at approximently $3500 in savings now to go towards our $5k fee that we'll turn in with our dossier! With our upcoming yard sale, photo shoot raffle, and t-shirt sales- it's gonna happen folks, I believe it! Wahoo! Our home study is still in review with AGCI and hopefully it'll get approved and finalized this week! Our passports came on Friday and so now we'll just have to make a photocopy of them along with a statement of truth that will need to be notarized and our dossier will be complete! We're getting so close to the wait list- all in His perfect timing!