A Face of Hope

A few Saturdays ago was a bitter sweet day for me. My sister and I had planned to pick out a grave marker for our mom in the morning. God knew that I needed a little sunshine on my day so he gave me a wink ;) Earlier that morning I received a message from a friend that they were going to try and skpye with us again with the girls. We were so excited to hear this news because I didn't think that we would get a chance to talk to them again. We had some time before we were to skpye, so I left to accomplish the bitter part of the day...picking out the grave marker. As my sister and I finished this task, I felt my spirits lift because it was like mom was shining down on us. Mom was smiling because she knew something exciting was going to happen. She always had a great way of making the clouds go away. I told Robin about the chance to skpye with the girls and she jumped on the chance to come to my house to see them. So~ Robin, Jason, Parker and my dad all came to the house so that they could see and feel the excitement of why we want to adopt. God intervened yet again with this situation. We all gathered in the living room waiting for our call through skpye. We were so excited, Jim bob and I were pacing the floors. Finally the call came through and there was our girls! This conversation was special because there was someone there who was actually able to translate for us. We got the chance to ask them questions and they had the chance to find out things from us. I loved the moment because we were all gathered around the computer explaining who each person was. You could see the excitement on their faces. They asked us how many cousins would they have and when we told them their reaction was priceless! They giggled and said, "wow." Wait until they meet the extended family!! I explained that Jim Bob and I both have big families and that they are going to have a lot of people love them. Both Nastya and Anya got teary eyed! It is just so precious to see the hope in their eyes. Nastya, who is 14 years old was so desperately wanting a family to adopt her from America. I found out later that she had approached one of the families that was over in Ukraine, just pleading with them to find her a family. Anya is 16 years old and will soon graduate from the orphanage. Children graduate from an orphanage at the age of 15-17. I can't imaging leaving and not having a family to take you in with open arms. Someone to wipe away the tears on a bad day or someone to laugh with you in a moment of joy. After watching my mom lose her battle to cancer, I found myself wanting to be a better person. She taught me so much about life and some of those things I took for granted. Now, I cherish all of those lessons. Even in death a seed can be planted. My moms courage, strength, love and strong faith inspired us all. Always remember to laugh a little more and hug a little more. Family is everything. My mom's gift is what has started this process. I could have asked for a better way to honor her and to glorify God! So, we are now starting this journey to adopt two teenage daughters. Yes, that is what I said, two teenage girls...lol! At first, We couldn't believe it ourselves that God had called us to adopt two teenage girls. I thought to myself, If I was going to adopt...it would be a child that was closer in age to our children. How quickly God can speak to you and change your mind!! By taking this leap of faith, God has made this process go quickly. We had our home study done a week ago...and PASSED!!! Now we are just working on more paper work and praying for God's hand on our family. My mom's favorite verse comes to mind through all of this:
Proverb 3: 5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. This is definitely a God Thing! Without action faith is dead. This is truly a leap of faith for us. I can't even begin to say how blessed we are that God has directed us to adopt two precious girls. Two girls that have a new face...a face of hope.
Thank you mom!!